A mir-212-3p/slc6a1 regulatory sub-network for the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a liver cancer with a poor prognosis. Owing to the complexity and limited pathogenic mechanism research on HCC, the molecular targeted therapy has been hindered. Methods: In this study, we categorized transcriptome data into low-Myc and high-Myc expression groups in 365 HCC samples, screened the differentially expressed RNAs, including 441 DE-lncRNAs, 99 DE-miRNAs and 612 DE-mRNAs, constructed a lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory network, and selected a hub triple regulatory network through cytoHubba analysis. Through Gene ontology and KEGG pathway, a hub regulatory network was particularly enriched in the “Wnt signaling pathway” and “Cytochrome P450-arranged by substrate type” by Metascape. The prognostic genes in the hub regulatory network were evaluated by the RNA expression analysis, Kaplan–Meier (KM) survival analysis, and correlation analysis. Results: The results showed that miR-212-3p/SLC6A1 axis was a potential prognostic model for HCC. Furthermore, IHC analysis showed down-regulated expression of SLC6A1 in HCC tissues and Alb-Cre;Myc mouse liver cancer tissues. The genetics and epigenetic analysis indicated that SLC6A1 expression was negatively correlated with DNA methylation. Immune infiltration analysis showed a negative relation between SLC6A1 and T cell exhaustion/monocyte in liver cancer tissues. Conclusion: In summary, the study revealed that miR-212-3p/SLC6A1 axis could serve as a crucial therapeutic target for HCC.