MiR-199a-5p is negatively associated with malignancies and regulates glycolysis and lactate production by targeting hexokinase 2 in liver cancer

Cancer cells possess a unique metabolic phenotype that allows them to preferentially utilize glucose through aerobic glycolysis. This phenomenon is referred to as the Warburg effect. Accumulating evidence suggests that microRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small noncoding regulatory RNAs, interact with oncogenes/tumor suppressors and induce such metabolic reprograming in cancer cells. To systematically study the metabolic roles of miRNAs in cancer cells, we developed a gain-of-function miRNA screen in HeLa cells. Subsequent investigation of the characterized miRNAs indicated that miR-199a-5p acts as a suppressor for glucose metabolism. Furthermore, miR-199a-5p is often down-regulated in human liver cancer, and its low expression level was correlated with a low survival rate, large tumor size, poor tumor differentiation status, high tumor-node-metastasis stage and the presence of tumor thrombus of patients. MicroRNA-199a-5p directly targets the 3-untranslated region of hexokinase 2 (HK2), an enzyme that catalyzes the irreversible first step of glycolysis, thereby suppressing glucose consumption, lactate production, cellular glucose-6-phosphate and adenosine triphosphate levels, cell proliferation, and tumorigenesis of liver cancer cells. Moreover, HK2 is frequently up-regulated in liver cancer tissues and associated with poor patient outcomes. The up-regulation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 under hypoxic conditions suppresses the expression of miR-199a-5p and promotes glycolysis, whereas reintroduction of miR-199a-5p interferes with the expression of HK2, abrogating hypoxia-enhanced glycolysis. Conclusion: miR-199a-5p/HK2 reprograms the metabolic process in liver cancer cells and provides potential prognostic predictors for liver cancer patients. (Hepatology 2015;62:1132-1144)