LncRNA HOTAIR contributes Taxol-resistance of hepatocellular carcinoma cells via activating AKT phosphorylation by down-regulating miR-34a.

Drug resistance of Taxol leads to the treatment failure in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). LncRNA HOTAIR have drawn increasing attention in various diseases, its function and mechanism in Taxol-resistance in HCC remain unclear. In this study, the two Taxol resistant HCC cell lines (HepG2/Taxol and SMMC7721/Taxol) were induced. The qRT-PCR data exhibited that over-expressed HOTAIR as well as low-expressed miR-34a were founded in HepG2/Taxol and SMMC7721/Taxol cells. HOTAIR knockdown suppresses proliferation, invasion and promotes apoptosis of in HepG2/Taxol and SMMC7721/Taxol cells through up-regulating miR-34a by MTT assay, transwell invasion assays and flow cytometry, while down-regulation of miR-34a had an opposite effect on reversing Taxol resistance. Cleaved caspase-3 and Bax were significantly up-regulated by si-HOTAIR transfection, while Bcl-2 level exhibited opposite trend. Besides, HOTAIR knockdown impaired Taxol-resistance in HCC by accommodating Akt phosphorylation and Wnt/β-catenin signaling via interacting with miR-34a. This study may afford a valuable target for treating Taxol-resistance in HCC.