MicroRNA-21 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cell proliferation through repression of mitogen-activated protein kinase-kinase 3

MicroRNA 21 (miR-21) has been demonstrated to be significantly elevated in many types of cancers, including the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the present study, we investigated the role of miR-21 in HCC by identifying its novel targets, as well as its underlying molecular mechanism.