Abstract: Objective This study aims to explore the mechanism of mTOR-mediated liver cancer cell invasion. Methods q-PCR was used to check the expression of miR-27a and GP73; miR-27a mimics were transfected into GP73-high expressing M97H cells and miR-27a inhibitors were transfected into GP73-low expressing HepG2 cells, q-PCR and Western blot were performed to observe the expression of GP73; Dual-luciferase assay was also performed to verify the binding sites of miR-27a in GP73 3’UTR; miR-27a mimics were transfected into M97H cells and miR-27a inhibitors were transfected into HepG2 cells, Transwell assay was used to measure cell invasion. Results mTOR downregulated miR-27a and upregulated GP73; GP73 was downregulated by miR-27a and upregulated by miR-27a suppression; GP73 was a target gene of miR-27a; miR-27a inhibited the invasion of M97H cells rather than HepG2 cells. Conclusions miR-27a is negatively regulated by mTOR and inhibits liver cancer cell invasion via targeting GP73.

Key words: Key words: Liver Cancer, mTOR, GP73, invasion