Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of miR-24 on liver fibrosis in vivo and in vitro. Methods
The model of liver fibrosis was established by intraperitoneal injection of CCl 4  into C57BL/6 mice and real-
time PCR was used to determinate the expression of miR-214. The expression of miR-214 in LX-2 cells
was regulated by liposome transfection, and the proliferation, activation and migration of LX-2 cells after
transfection of miR-214 mimics and miR-214 inhibitor were investigated by CCK-8, reverse transcriotion-
polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and scratch test. The potential target gene of miR-214 was predicted in
the Targetscan database, and was verified by Western-blot. Results The expression of miR-214 in the liver of
the model group was significantly higher than that of the control group (t = 1.928，P = 0.040). Compared with
the NC-mimics, the miR-214 mimics can promote the LX-2 cell proliferation and migration (t = 3.872, P =
0.001), increase the mRNA expression of α-SMA (t = 1.952, P = 0.039) and collagen Ⅰα (t = 2.926, P = 0.006).
The miR-214 mimics could also decrease the protein expression of PTEN which were predicted by Targetscan
database. Conclusions MiR-214 is involved in the activation, proliferation and migration of HSC and promotes
the formation of liver fibrosis. It is possible that the biological function of HSC is affected by inhibiting the
expression of PTEN.