This study was designed to explore the role of
versican in the development of
hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Ectopic expression of the
versican 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) was studied as a
competitive endogenous RNA for regulating
miRNA functions. We used this approach to modulate the expression of
versican and its related
proteins in 3'-UTR transgenic mice and in the
liver cancer cell line HepG2, stably transfected with the 3'-UTR or a control vector. We demonstrated that transgenic mice expressing the
versican 3'-UTR developed HCC and increased expression of
versican isoforms V0 and V1. HepG2 cells transfected with
versican 3'-UTR displayed increased proliferation, survival, migration, invasion, colony formation, and enhanced endothelial cell growth, but decreased apoptosis. We found that
versican 3'-UTR could bind to
miRNAs miR-133a, miR-199a*, miR-144, and miR-431 and also interacted with CD34 and
fibronectin. As a consequence, expression of
versican, CD34, and
fibronectin was up-regulated by ectopic transfection of the
versican 3'-UTR, which was confirmed in HepG2 cells and in transgenic mice as compared with wild-type controls. Transfection with siRNAs targeting the
versican 3'-UTR abolished the effects of the 3'-UTR. Taken together, these results demonstrate that
versican V0 and V1
isoforms play important roles in HCC development and that
versican mRNAs compete with endogenous RNAs in regulating
miRNA functions.