Circulating microRNA in the early diagnosis of hepatitis B associated liver cancer

Abstract

Objective To screen the differentially expressed microRNA (miRNA, miR) in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and analyze the biological information to provide a possibility for early humoral diagnosis and therapy. Methods Human gene expression microarray technology was used to analyze the miRNA differential expression profiles in post-hepatitis B liver cancer, post-hepatitis cirrhosis and healthy volunteers. GO analysis and KEGG pathway biological analysis were performed. Results We identified 17 differential miRNAs in the HBV-related HCC blood samples and 20 differential miRNAs in hepatitis B xirrhosis blood samples compared to healthy controla. There were also 4 down-regulated and 6 up-regulated miRNAs in HCC samples compared to the hepatitis B cirrhosis samples. The expression of hsa-miR-6127, hsa-miR-6879-5p, and hsa-miR-6510-5p was significantly increased in HCC, but reduced in healthy and cirrhotic groups. And it was confirmed that miRNAs participated in angiogenesis, host immunity and multiple signaling pathways of hepatitis B-related HCC. Conclusion Hepatitis B-associated liver cancer has significantly different expression profiles of miRNAs in healthy adults and cirrhosis, involving in the functional classification and signal transduction pathways. Analysis of these differences can faciliate the early diagnosis and therapy of HCC. Key words: Carcinoma, hepatocellular; MicroRNA; Bioinformatics; Hepatitis B Virus