Table 2 Representative preclinical in vivo experiments

miR-221

HCC

CDKN1B/p27, CDKN1C/p57, Bmf, PTEN, TIMP3, DDIT4, mTOR

A transgenic mouse model of miR-221 overexpression in the liver was established, which is characterized by the inevitable appearance of spontaneous liver tumors with diethylnitrosamine. When received an in vivo intravenous injection of anti-miR-221 oligonucleotides exhibited a significant reduction in the number and size of liver tumor nodules.

miR-7

HCC

PIK3CD

In a xenograft model, overexpressed miR-7 effectively repressed tumor growth and decreased metastasis to the lung.

miR-520e

HCC

NIK

HepG2 cells transfected with miR-520e or a negative control were injected subcutaneously into nude mice. The introduction of miR-520e led to a significant reduction in both the size of tumor volume and the frequency of tumor formation. In addition, direct intratumoral injection with miR-520e oligonucleotides repressed the growth of HCC cells in an in vivo xenograft model.

miR-375

HCC

AEG-1

Overexpression of miR-375 in liver cancer cells decreased cell proliferation, clonogenicity, migration, and invasion, and induced G1 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Direct administration of cholesterol-conjugated 2’-O-methyl-modified miR375 mimics significantly affected the growth of HCC xenografts.

miR-25

Colon cancer

Smad7

In a xenograft model study, stable overexpression of miR25 in colon cancer cells suppressed tumor growth.

miR-217

PDCA

KRAS

Xenograft tumors of PDAC cells were directly injected with miR217-expressing plasmids or a control vector using in vivo-jet PEI. The results from these assays indicated that miR-217 suppresses tumor cell growth in vivo.