Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide and the third cause of cancer-related death. Poor understanding of the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of HCC makes it difficult to be diagnosed and treated at early stage. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of noncoding single-stranded RNAs of ~22 nucleotides in length, posttranscriptionally regulate gene expression by base pairing with the 3′ untranslated regions (3′UTRs) of target messenger RNAs (mRNAs). Aberrant expression of miRNAs is found in many if not all cancers, and many deregulated miRNAs have been proved to play crucial roles in the initiation and progression of cancers by regulating the expression of various oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. In this Paper, we will summarize the regulations and functions of miRNAs aberrantly expressed in HCC and discuss the potential application of miRNAs as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of HCC and their potential roles in the intervention of HCC.
Highlights
Being one of the most frequently diagnosed cancer worldwide, liver cancer is the second leading cause of cancerdeath in men and the sixth leading cause of cancer-related death in women [1]
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which account for 70% to 85% of the primary liver cancer cases, is rarely detected at its early stage, resulting in a short survival of few months [2]
About 90% of HCC cases arise from cirrhosis, which can be attributed to a wide range of factors including chronic viral hepatitis B or C (HBV or HCV) infections, alcohol abuse, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), and carcinogens exposure [3]
Summary
Being one of the most frequently diagnosed cancer worldwide, liver cancer is the second leading cause of cancerdeath in men and the sixth leading cause of cancer-related death in women [1]. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which account for 70% to 85% of the primary liver cancer cases, is rarely detected at its early stage, resulting in a short survival of few months [2]. Considerable progresses on unraveling molecular mechanisms of HCC have been achieved recently, paving the way to the early detection and treatment of HCC. We will summarize the process and the regulation of miRNA biogenesis, as well as our current knowledge about the biological relevance of miRNAs to HCC. MiRNAs downregulate the expression of specific genes predominantly by base pairing with the 3 untranslated regions (3UTRs) of target messenger RNAs (mRNAs), leading to translational inhibition, transcript destabilization, or both [5]. Findings indicate that miRNAs can target the 5UTRs and coding regions of mRNAs [6, 7]
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