miRNA for diagnosis and clinical implications of human hepatocellular carcinoma

Exploring non-coding RNA mechanisms in hepatocellular carcinoma: implications for therapy and prognosis

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a significant contributor to cancer-related deaths in the world. The development and progression of HCC are closely correlated with the abnormal regulation of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), such as microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs). Important biological pathways in cancer biology, such as cell proliferation, death, and metastasis, are impacted by these ncRNAs, which modulate gene expression. The abnormal expression of non-coding RNAs in HCC raises the possibility that they could be applied as new biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment targets. Furthermore, by controlling the expression of cancer-related genes, miRNAs can function as either tumor suppressors or oncogenes. On the other hand, lncRNAs play a role in the advancement of cancer by interacting with other molecules within the cell, which, in turn, affects processes such as chromatin remodeling, transcription, and post-transcriptional processes. The importance of ncRNA-driven regulatory systems in HCC is being highlighted by current research, which sheds light on tumor behavior and therapy response. This research highlights the great potential of ncRNAs to improve patient outcomes in this difficult disease landscape by augmenting the present methods of HCC care through the use of precision medicine approaches.

Structural Modifications and Novel Protein-Binding Sites in Pre-miR-675-Explaining Its Regulatory Mechanism in Carcinogenesis

Pre-miR-675 is a microRNA expressed from the exon 1 of H19 long noncoding RNA, and the atypical expression of pre-miR-675 has been linked with several diseases and disorders including cancer. To execute its function inside the cell, pre-miR-675 is folded into a particular conformation, which aids in its interaction with several other biological molecules. However, the exact folding dynamics of pre-miR-675 and its protein-binding motifs are currently unknown. Moreover, how H19 lncRNA and pre-miR-675 crosstalk and modulate each other's activities is also unclear. The detailed structural analysis of pre-miR-675 in this study determines its earlier unknown conformation and identifies novel protein-binding sites on pre-miR-675, thus making it an excellent therapeutic target against cancer. Co-folding analysis between H19 lncRNA and pre-miR-675 determine structural transformations in pre-miR-675, thus describing the earlier unknown mechanism of interaction between these two molecules. Comprehensively, this study details the conformation of pre-miR-675 and its protein-binding sites and explains its relationship with H19 lncRNA, which can be interpreted to understand the role of pre-miR-675 in the development and progression of tumorigenesis and designing new therapeutics against cancers.

miRNAs as potential game-changers in bone diseases: Future medicinal and clinical uses

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), short, highly conserved non-coding RNA, influence gene expression by sequential mechanisms such as mRNA breakdown or translational repression. Many biological processes depend on these regulating substances, thus changes in their expression have an impact on the maintenance of cellular homeostasis and result in the emergence of a variety of diseases. Relevant studies have shown in recent years that miRNAs are involved in many stages of bone development and growth. Additionally, abnormal production of miRNA in bone tissues has been closely associated with the development of numerous bone disorders, such as osteonecrosis, bone cancer, and bone metastases. Many pathological processes, including bone loss, metastasis, the proliferation of osteosarcoma cells, and differentiation of osteoblasts and osteoclasts, are under the control of miRNAs. By bringing together the most up-to-date information on the clinical relevance of miRNAs in such diseases, this study hopes to further the study of the biological features of miRNAs in bone disorders and explore their potential as a therapeutic target.

miRNAs as cornerstones in colorectal cancer pathogenesis and resistance to therapy: A spotlight on signaling pathways interplay - A review

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the world's third most prevalent cancer and the main cause of cancer-related mortality. A lot of work has been put into improving CRC patients' clinical care, including the development of more effective methods and wide biomarkers variety for prognostic, and diagnostic purposes. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate a variety of cellular processes and play a significant role in the CRC progression and spread via controlling their target gene expression by translation inhibition or mRNA degradation. Consequently, dysregulation and disruption in their function, miRNAs are linked to CRC malignant pathogenesis by controlling several cellular processes involved in the CRC. These cellular processes include increased proliferative and invasive capacity, cell cycle aberration, evasion of apoptosis, enhanced EMT, promotion of angiogenesis and metastasis, and decreased sensitivity to major treatments. The miRNAs control cellular processes in CRC via regulation of pathways such as Wnt/β-catenin signaling, PTEN/AKT/mTOR axis, KRAS, TGFb signaling, VEGFR, EGFR, and P53. Hence, the goal of this review was to review miRNA biogenesis and present an updated summary of oncogenic and tumor suppressor (TS) miRNAs and their potential implication in CRC pathogenesis and responses to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. We also summarise the biological importance and clinical applications of miRNAs in the CRC.

CircLIFR suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma progression by sponging miR-624-5p and inactivating the GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling pathway

Circular RNAs have been reported to play essential roles in the tumorigenesis and progression of various cancers. However, the biological processes and mechanisms involved in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. Initial RNA-sequencing data and qRT-PCR results in our cohort showed that hsa_circ_0072309 (also called circLIFR) was markedly downregulated in HCC tissues. Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that higher levels of circLIFR in HCC patients correlated with favorable overall survival and recurrence-free survival rates. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments indicated that circLIFR inhibited the proliferation and invasion abilities of HCC cells. We therefore conducted related experiments to explore the mechanism of circLIFR in HCC. Fluorescence in situ hybridization results revealed that circLIFR was mainly located in the cytoplasm, and RNA immunoprecipitation assays indicated that circLIFR was significantly enriched by Ago2 protein. These results suggested that circLIFR may function as a sponge of miRNAs to regulate HCC progression. We further conducted bioinformatics prediction as well as dual-luciferase reporter assays, and the results of which showed that circLIFR could sponge miR-624-5p to stabilize glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β) expression. Loss and gain of function experiments demonstrated that regulation of the expression of miR-624-5p or GSK-3β markedly affected HCC progression induced by circLIFR. Importantly, we also proved that circLIFR could facilitate the degradation of β-catenin and prevent its translocation to the nucleus in HCC cells. Overall, our study demonstrated that circLIFR acts as a tumor suppressor in HCC by regulating miR-624-5p and inactivating the GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma: The Role of MicroRNAs

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. HCC is diagnosed in its advanced stage when limited treatment options are available. Substantial morphologic, genetic and epigenetic heterogeneity has been reported in HCC, which poses a challenge for the development of a targeted therapy. In this review, we discuss the role and involvement of several microRNAs (miRs) in the heterogeneity and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma with a special emphasis on their possible role as a diagnostic and prognostic tool in the risk prediction, early detection, and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

miRNAs inspirations in hepatocellular carcinoma: Detrimental and favorable aspects of key performers

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. HCC initiation, progression, and therapy failure are all influenced by various variables, including microRNAs (miRNAs). miRNAs are short non-coding RNA sequences that modulate target mRNA expression by deteriorating or repressing translation. miRNAs play an imperative role in HCC pathogenesis by triggering the induction of cancer stem cells (CSCs) and their proliferation, while also delaying apoptosis, sustaining the cell cycle, and inspiring angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis. Additionally, miRNAs modulate crucial HCC-related molecular pathways such as the p53 pathway, the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, VEGFR2, and PTEN/PI3K/AKT pathway. Consequently, the goal of this review was to give an up-to-date overview of oncogenic and tumor suppressor (TS) miRNAs, as well as their potential significance in HCC pathogenesis and treatment responses, highlighting their underpinning molecular pathways in HCC initiation and progression. Similarly, the biological importance and clinical application of miRNAs in HCC are summarized.

CircPTK2 inhibits cell cisplatin (CDDP) resistance by targeting miR-942/TRIM16 axis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

In recent years, the problem of cancer resistance has become more and more prominent, seriously affecting treatment efficiency. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play an important role in cell progression and cancer mechanisms. However, there is a lack of systematic studies on its function in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) resistance. CircPTK2, microRNA-942 (miR-942), and Tripartite motif 16 (TRIM16) levels were detected by Real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR). Extracellular acidification rate (ECAR), glucose consumption, and lactate production were assessed using the Seahorse XF96 Glycolysis Analyzer, glucose, and lactate assay kits, respectively. The protein expression was measured with the western bolt Transwell assay was used to determine migration and invasion of transfected cells. (4-5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and flow cytometry were applied to carry out cell proliferation and apoptosis, respectively. The relationship among circPTK2, miR-942, and TRIM16 were determined by using the dual-luciferase reporter assay and RIP assay. circPTK2 (hsa_circ_0008305) and TRIM16 were low expressed, while miR-942 was significantly highly expressed in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. Moreover, overexpression of circPTK2 remarkably inhibited cell growth, metastasis, and glycolysis in A549/CDDP and H1299/CDDP cells. Promotion of miR-942 or inhibition of TRIM16 could reverse the effects of high circPTK2 expression on cell growth, metastasis, and glycolysis in A549/CDDP and H1299/CDDP cells. CircPTK2 overexpression inhibited the growth of A549/CDDP cells in vivo. Furthermore, circPTK2 weakened CDDP resistance of NSCLC through modulating miR-942/TRIM16 axis, providing a novel sight for the treatment of NSCLC and improving the understanding of the CDDP resistance mechanism of NSCLC.

Detection of exosomal miR-18a and miR-222 levels in Egyptian patients with hepatic cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is known to be the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. For improving the prognosis as well as reducing the rate of mortality, early diagnosis of HCC is a must.

AIMS

This study was conducted to assess the ability of the serum expression of exosomal miR-18a and miR-222 to differentiate and diagnose patients with HCC, patients with liver cirrhosis, and healthy controls.

METHODS

This study included 51 patients with liver cirrhosis, 51 patients with HCC on top of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, and 50 healthy controls.

RESULTS

miR-18a and miR-222 were assessed using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. MiR-18a and miR-222 levels were significantly higher in the liver cirrhosis and HCC groups than the control group (p ˂ 0.001). However, no statistically significant difference was found between patients with HCC and liver cirrhosis (p = 0.4 for miR-18a and p = 0.1 for miR-222). ROC curve analyses to evaluate the diagnostic performances of the two miRNAs as important noninvasive diagnostic markers revealed a best cutoff value of 2 for miR-18a to differentiate between liver cirrhosis, HCC, and healthy controls. And for mir-222, a cutoff value of 1.7 and 1.9 showed the highest specificity for discrimination between liver cirrhosis, HCC, and healthy controls, respectively. Moreover, logistic regression model revealed that miR-18a expression was independent predictive factor in HCC patients (p = 0.004), while miR-222 expression was independent predictive factor in liver cirrhosis patients (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

miR-18a and miR-222 were significantly discriminative markers between patients with liver cirrhosis and HCC and healthy individuals. Therefore, they have a prognostic rather than a diagnostic value. Moreover, miR-18a and miR-222 could be useful in identifying liver injuries, including fibrosis and cirrhosis.

A review of the biological role of miRNAs in prostate cancer suppression and progression

Prostate cancer (PC) is the third-leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Although the current treatment strategies are progressing rapidly, PC is still representing a substantial medical problem for affected patients. Several factors are involved in PC initiation, progression, and treatments failure including microRNAs (miRNAs). The miRNAs are endogenous short non-coding RNA sequence negatively regulating target mRNA expression via degradation or translation repression. miRNAs play a pivotal role in PC pathogenesis through its ability to initiate the induction of cancer stem cells (CSCs) and proliferation, as well as sustained cell cycle, evading apoptosis, invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Furthermore, miRNAs regulate major molecular pathways affecting PC such as the androgen receptor (AR) pathway, p53 pathway, PTEN/PI3K/AKT pathway, and Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Furthermore, miRNAs alter PC therapeutic response towards the androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), chemotherapy and radiation therapy (RT). Thus, the understanding and profiling of the altered miRNAs expression in PC could be utilized as a non-invasive biomarker for the early diagnosis as well as for patient sub-grouping with different prognoses for individualized treatment. Accordingly, in the current review, we summarized in updated form the roles of various oncogenic and tumor suppressor (TS) miRNAs in PC, revealing their underlying molecular mechanisms in PC initiation and progression.

MicroRNA-95-3p serves as a contributor to cisplatin resistance in human gastric cancer cells by targeting EMP1/PI3K/AKT signaling

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are thought to be involved in the development of cisplatin (DDP) resistance in gastric cancer (GC). Using RNA sequencing analysis (RNA-seq), we found that miR-95-3p is associated with DDP resistance in GC. We discovered that miR-95-3p is highly expressed in DDP-resistant GC tissues and cell lines (SGC7901/DDP and AGS/DDP). Furthermore, results from the BrdU and MTT assays indicated that miR-95-3p promotes GC cell proliferation. Additionally, data from transwell chamber assay, wound healing test and in vivo experiments illustrated that miR-95-3p can effectively promote invasion, migration and tumorigenic capacity, respectively, of DDP-resistant GC cells. Subsequently, results from dual luciferase assay and qRT-PCR collectively indicated that EMP1 is a target of miR-95-3p with inhibitory function through suppression of the EMT process and drug-resistance proteins. Furthermore, PI3K/AKT was identified as a downstream pathway of miR-95-3p, which promotes DDP resistance in GC. In summary, miR-95-3p helped develop DDP-resistance through down-regulation of EMP1 and increasing phosphorylation of the PI3K/Akt pathway in GC.

MicroRNA-936 Targets JAG1 and Inhibits the Proliferation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors. Investigating the underlying molecular mechanism is essential for the treatment and prognosis of HCC. Emerging evidence suggests that microRNAs (miRNAs) play pivotal roles in cancer progression. Down-regulation of miR-936 has been found in several cancers, which serves as a tumor suppressor to inhibit the development of cancers. However, the clinical significance and functional roles of miR-936 in HCC have not been determined. To explore this, the expression of miR-936 in HCC tissues and cells was detected by RT-qPCR. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, cell migration and cell cycle analysis were performed to evaluate the effects of miR-936 on the growth of HCC cells. The targets of miR-936 were predicted using the miRDB database and confirmed by luciferase reporter experiments. The protein expression of targets was determined by western blot. The results showed that miR-936 was significantly decreased in HCC tissues and cell lines. Low expression of miR-936 was associated with the advance progression and poor survival of HCC patients (P = 0.0036). Functional study revealed that overexpression of miR-936 inhibited the proliferation, migration (decreased to ∼0.26 fold) and induced cell cycle arrested in G₁ phase (from 35.3% to 44.7%) of HCC cells. Additionally, miR-936 targeted the 3′-untranslated region (UTR) of jagged-1 (JAG1) and reduced the expression of JAG1 (decreased to ∼0.35 fold). JAG1 was found to be up-regulated in HCC tissues and was inversely correlated with the expression of miR-936 (Pearson r = −0.4633; P = 0.0007). The anti-cancer effects of miR-936 on the proliferation of HCC cells were partially reversed by the rescue of JAG1. Therefore, these results suggested that miR-936 might be a potential target for HCC treatment.

MiRNA Polymorphisms and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Susceptibility: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis

Background

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an intractable public health threat worldwide, representing the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality, with limited early detection and therapeutic options. Recent findings have revealed that the susceptibility of HCC is closely related to microRNA (miRNA). We performed this systematic review with a network meta-analysis to investigated four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that most regularly reported in miRNAs, exploring their involvement in HCC susceptibility and interaction with hepatitis B virus (HBV).

Methods

Databases were reviewed for related studies published up to May 2019 to identify all studies that compared genotypes of miR-146a rs2910164, miR-149 rs2292832, miR-196a2 rs11614913, and miR-499 rs3746444 with no language and date restrictions. A pairwise meta-analysis was performed to estimate pooled odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals incorporating heterogeneity to assess the relationship between four miRNA polymorphisms and HCC. To further clarify the effect of polymorphisms on HCC, a Bayesian network meta-analysis was conducted to combine the effective sizes of direct and indirect comparisons. Calculations were performed by R version 3.6.1 and STATA 14.0. All steps were performed according to PRISMA guidelines.

Results

A total of 20 studies were enrolled in this network meta-analysis, providing 5,337 hepatocellular carcinoma cases and 6,585 controls. All included studies had an acceptable quality. Pairwise meta-analysis demonstrated that miR-196a2 rs11614913 was significantly associated with the susceptibility of HCC, while the other three SNPs were not found to have a significant association. In the analysis of HCC patients under different HBV infection status, only miR-196a2 revealed correlation of threefold risk. The network results showed no significant difference in the distribution of genotype frequencies except for miR-196a2, which appeared to have the highest superiority index when comparing and ranking four SNPs.

Conclusion

MiR-196a2 rs11614913 was significantly associated with the susceptibility of HCC, especially for HBV- related HCC, and that individuals with TC/CC were more susceptible. No significant association was found in the other three miRNA genes. MiR-196a2 could serve as the best predictor of susceptibility in HCC.

miR-425-5p Acts as a Molecular Marker and Promoted Proliferation, Migration by Targeting RNF11 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and dangerous malignant tumors in China, which causes a large number of deaths every year. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) dysfunction contributes to the malignant progression of tumors. The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between the biological role of miR-425-5p and malignant progression of HCC. Our results showed that miR-425-5p expression was significantly upregulated in HCC tissues and closely related to the poor prognosis of HCC patients. The knockdown of miR-425-5p inhibited cell proliferation and migration. Further, we identified RNF11 as the downstream target gene of miR-425-5p. In addition, the rescue experiments showed that the upregulation of RNF11 could rescue the inhibitory effect of miR-425-5p on HCC. In general, miR-425-5p as an oncogene promotes the malignant development of HCC via RNF11 and serves as a molecular target for predicting the prognosis of HCC patients.

Multipotent miRNA Sponge-Loaded Magnetic Nanodroplets with Ultrasound/Magnet-Assisted Delivery for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Therapy

Gene therapy is likely to be the most promising way to tackle cancer, while defects in molecular strategies and delivery systems have led to an impasse in clinical application. Here, it is found that onco-miRNAs of the miR-515 and -449 families were upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and the sponge targeting miR-515 family had a significant probability to suppress cancer cell proliferation. Then, we constructed non-toxic sponge-loaded magnetic nanodroplets containing 20% C6F14 (SLMNDs-20%) that are incorporated with fluorinated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles enhancing external magnetism-assisted targeting and enabling a direct visualization of SLMNDs-20% distribution in vivo via magnetic resonance imaging monitoring. SLMNDs-20% could be vaporized by programmable focused ultrasound (FUS) activation, achieving ∼45% in vitro sponge delivery efficiency and significantly enhancing in vivo sponge delivery without a clear apoptosis. Moreover, the sponge-1-carrying SLMNDs-20% could effectively suppress proliferation of xenograft HCC after FUS exposure because sponge-1-suppressing onco-miR-515 enhanced the expression of anti-oncogenes (P21, CD22, TIMP1, NFKB, and E-cadherin) in cancer cells. The current results indicated that ultrasonic cavitation-inducing sonoporation enhanced the intracellular delivery of sponge-1 using SLMNDs-20% after magnetic-assisted accumulation, which was a therapeutic approach to inhibit HCC progression.

Dysregulated miRNA in a cancer-prone environment: A study of gastric non-neoplastic mucosa

Understanding cancer-prone environments is important to efficiently detect and prevent cancers. The associations between miRNA and cancer-prone environments are still largely unknown in gastric cancer (GC). Six miRNAs that are differentially expressed during gastric carcinogenesis were selected, and quantitative real-time PCR was performed in an independent training set (fresh non-tumor and tumor samples from 18 GC patients) and validation sets (set 1 with formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded non-tumor and tumor samples from 19 solitary GC and set 2 with 37 multiple GC patients). The results were compared with those of 37 gastric mucosa from 20 healthy volunteers. The expression levels of miR-26a, miR-375, and miR-1260 in gastric mucosa from healthy volunteers were statistically higher than that of non-tumorous gastric mucosa located 3 cm apart from the GC in the training set (miR-26a, P < 0.0001; miR-375, P = 0.0049; miR-1260, P = 0.0172), validation set 1 (miR-26a and miR-375, P < 0.0001; miR-1260, P = 0.0008), and validation set 2 (miR-26a, miR-375, and miR-1260, P < 0.0001). And a combination of miR-26a and miR-1260 showed the highest area under the curve value of 0.89. miRNAs are differentially expressed in non-neoplastic gastric mucosa and can be used as a biomarker to predict cancer-prone environments.

Circulating microRNA-301 as a promising diagnostic biomarker of hepatitis C virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a serious consequence of persistent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and represents one of the most aggressive neoplasms globally. The implication of microRNA-301 (miR-301) in the initiation and progression of different types of cancers has been proved. We aimed to assess circulating microRNA-301 as possible biomarker for the early detection of HCC in patients with chronic HCV infection. miR-301 expression levels were estimated in plasma samples of 42 patients with newly diagnosed HCV-related HCC, 48 chronically HCV infected patients with liver cirrhosis and 40 healthy individuals by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction technique. In comparison with chronically HCV infected patients and healthy controls, miR-301 expression levels were significantly increased in HCC patients (P < 0.001). miR-301 levels distinguished HCC patients from chronic HCV patients, with area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of 0.89 (95% CI 0.82-0.96), the sensitivity and the specificity were 78.57% and 89.58% respectively. Moreover, miR-301 levels were significantly linked with tumor size (P = 0.014), serum levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) (P = 0.028) and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) score (P = 0.003). These results reveal that miR-301 can serve as a promising non-invasive biomarker for diagnosis of HCC in chronically HCV infected patients.

miR-99b-3p promotes hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis and proliferation by targeting protocadherin 19

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers in the world, with characteristics of high morbidity and mortality. Identifying clinically practical targets and uncovering the potential mechanism for HCC were urgent for us. Though aberrantly expressed miR-99b-3p has been reported in several cancers, the expression and roles of miR-99b-3p in HCC remain uncovered. In the present study, we demonstrated for the first time that miR-99b-3p was overexpressed in HCC by our findings and data from GEO datasets. Statistical analysis revealed that highly expressed miR-99b-3p was closely related to malignant clinicopathological characteristics and poorer prognosis of HCC patients. Furthermore, results from Wound healing assay, Transwell assays, 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT)assay and 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) assay revealed that miR-99b-3p played a promoting role in migration, invasion and proliferation of HCC cells. Then, by bioinformatics tools, luciferase reporter gene assay, integrative database analysis, and Pearson correlation analysis and so on, protocadherin 19 (PCDH19) was identified as the target of miR-99b-3p in HCC cells. Furthermore, rescue experiments were conducted to confirm the mediator role of PCDH19 for miR-99b-3p. Collectively, we demonstrate that miR-99b-3p promotes HCC metastasis and proliferation by directly targeting PCDH19. MiR-99b-3p may become a potential therapy target for HCC.

MiR-92b targets p57kip2 to modulate the resistance of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to ionizing radiation (IR) -based radiotherapy

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common digestive system malignant tumors. Due to the resistance to radiotherapy, the prognosis in patients with HCC is poor. Based on previous studies and online tools prediction, we hypothesized that miR-92b, which was reported to promote HCC cell proliferation, might bind to p57kip2, a well-known tumor suppressor, to modulate the radioresistance of HCC to ionizing radiation (IR) -based radiotherapy. In the present study, a higher miR-92b expression in HCC tissues and cell lines was observed; a high miR-92b expression was correlated with poorer prognosis in patients with HCC. The overexpression of miR-92b enhanced the radioresistance of HCC to IR treatment by promoting cancer cell proliferation, attenuating cell apoptosis and remove IR-induced cell cycle at G2/M phase. Through directly binding to the 3'-UTR of p57kip2, miR-92b negatively regulated the protein levels of p57kip2; miR-92b inhibition enhanced the cell effect of IR on HCC cells, which could be attenuated by the p57kip2 knockdown, in other words, miR-92b modulated the radioresistance of HCC to IR-based radiotherapy through p57kip2. Taken together, miR-92b inhibits p57kip2 expression in HCC tissues and cell lines, thus enhancing the radioresistance of HCC to IR-based radiotherapy; targeting miR-92b to rescue p57kip2 expression in HCC might help sensitive HCC cells to IR-based radiotherapy.

The Oncogenic Role of ARG1 in Progression and Metastasis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

ARG1, which encodes Arginase1, is expressed in the liver cytoplasm and plays a major role in the hepatic urea cycle. The past research works shed light on the fact that ARG1 participates in anti-inflammation, tumor immunity, and immunosuppression-related diseases. Nevertheless, the concrete role and clinical significance of ARG1 in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. Herein, we aimed at examining the expression and clinicopathological significance of ARG1 in HCC, together with determining the effect of ARG1 on the progression and metastasis of HCC. In the current study, evaluation of the expression of ARG1 and clinicopathological significance of ARG1 was carried out in the human HCC tissues microarray, and the ARG1 overexpression vector and shRNA-ARG1 plasmids were constructed for the assessment of the concrete effect of ARG1 on cellular behaviors of Huh7 cells. As our data revealed, ARG1 was significantly downregulated in HCC, and the higher expression of ARG1 was positively correlated with more aggressive tumor growth, size, ALT, and GGT level. Significantly, we found that the high expression of ARG1 was correlated with poor DFS of HCC patients. Besides, in vitro study revealed that overexpression of ARG1 could enhance arginase activity, cell viability, migration, and invasion of Huh7 cells, and loss-of-function of ARG1 by shRNA interference could inhibit these cellular behaviors. Additionally, overexpression of ARG1 led to a significant increase in the expression of Vimentin, N-cadherin, and β-catenin both at protein and mRNA levels, which promotes the EMT process. On the other hand, these proteins' expression was significantly downregulated in ARG1 silenced Huh7 cells. Besides, the level of E-cadherin protein was upregulated in ARG1 knocked down cells. In conclusion, ARG1 might play a pivotal role as an oncogene in the progression of HCC through promoting the EMT process.

Serum exosomal microRNAs combined with alpha-fetoprotein as diagnostic markers of hepatocellular carcinoma

Exosomal microRNAs have recently been studied as the potential diagnostic marker for various malignancies, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study was to investigate serum exosomal microRNA profiles as HCC diagnostic marker. Transmission electron microscopy and Western blot were used to identify serum exosomes. Deep sequencing was performed to screen differentially expressed microRNAs between HCC (n = 5) and liver cirrhosis (LC, n = 5) groups. Three upregulated and two downregulated microRNAs were selected for qPCR analysis. The levels of selected microRNAs were normalized to Caenorhabditis elegans miR-39 microRNA mimics. Serum exosomal level of miR-122, miR-148a, and miR-1246 was further analyzed and significantly higher in HCC than LC and normal control (NC) groups (P < 0.001), but not different from chronic hepatitis group (P > 0.05). The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic performance of candidate microRNAs. Area under the curve (AUC) of miR-148a was 0.891 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.809-0.947] in discriminating HCC from LC, remarkably higher than alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) (AUC: 0.712, 95% CI: 0.607-0.803). Binary logistic regression was adopted to establish the diagnostic model for discriminating HCC from LC. And the combination of miR-122, miR-148a, and AFP increased the AUC to 0.931 (95% CI, 0.857-0.973), which can also be applied for distinguishing early HCC from LC. miR-122 was the best for differentiating HCC from NC (AUC: 0.990, 95% CI, 0.945-1.000). These data suggest that serum exosomal microRNAs signature or their combination with traditional biomarker may be used as a suitable peripheral screening tool for HCC.

MicroRNA-125b expression and intrahepatic metastasis are predictors for early recurrence after hepatocellular carcinoma resection

AIM

Early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence after curative resection is a known poor prognostic factor. We aimed to identify microRNAs associated with recurrence after curative HCC resection.

METHODS

To identify risk factors for early recurrence and metastasis, 694 patients who underwent primary curative HCC resection were analyzed. We evaluated microRNA expression in cancerous and non-cancerous tissues by microarray and quantitative PCR analyses using 16 HCC samples. We defined patients who had a recurrence within 1 year of resection as the early recurrence (ER) group, patients who had a recurrence within 1-5 years as the late recurrence (LR) group, and patients who did not recur during the 5-year observation period as the no recurrence (NR) group. We examined the relationship between microRNA expression and clinical features.

RESULTS

Multivariate analysis revealed that α-fetoprotein >31 ng/mL, tumor size >4 cm, and intrahepatic metastasis (IM) were significant factors. Afterwards, microarray analyses revealed that microRNA (miR)-125b-5p and miR-148a-3p were significantly downregulated in recurrent cases. The ratio of miR-125b-5p expression in cancerous versus non-cancerous tissue (miR-125b ratio), but not miR-148a-3p, was significantly lower in the ER group. Early recurrence was associated with reduced overall survival compared with the LR and NR group. The miR-125b ratio was significantly lower in the ER group than in the LR and NR groups. Multivariate analysis showed that a low miR-125b ratio and IM were independently associated with ER and disease-free survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Assessing tissue miR-125b-5p expression and IM is useful for stratifying patients at risk of early HCC recurrence after curative resection.

Potential miRNA-target interactions for the screening of gastric carcinoma development in gastric adenoma/dysplasia

Although miRNA markers have been identified for the pathological development of gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC), the underlying molecule mechanism are still not fully understood. Moreover, some gastric adenoma/dysplasia may progress to GAC. In this study, the miRNA expression profiles in normal and paired low-/high-grade dysplasia were analyzed using Affymetrix Gene-Chip miRNA arrays. Of the total 2578 mature miRNA probe sets, ~1600 showed positive signals when the between normal and paired low-/high-grade dysplasia were compared. To verify the miRNA expression, qRT-PCR analysis was performed to quantify the expression of altered miRNAs between normal and paired low-/high-grade dysplasia. The analysis revealed that hsa-miR-421, hsa-miR-29b-1-5p, and hsa-miR-27b-5p were overexpressed in gastric low-/high-grade dysplasia and that based on these miRNA-target interactions, FBXO11 and CREBZF could be considered convincing markers for gastric cancer (GC) progression. Thus, we identified three miRNAs (hsa-miR-421, hsa-miR-29b-1-5p, and hsa-miR-27b-5p) with two mRNAs (FBXO11 and CREBZF) that might play an important role in the GC development from premalignant adenomas. Furthermore, these two target mRNAs and three miRNAs were predicted to be potential biomarkers for the progression of GC by miRNA-target interaction analysis.

MTA1 modulated by miR-30e contributes to epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in hepatocellular carcinoma through an ErbB2-dependent pathway

MTA1 is a metastasis-associated protein, which is essential to epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). However, information concerning its up- and downstream regulation is rare. We investigated its upstream regulation and downstream effector in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In total, 94 paired HCC and adjacent tissue samples were involved in the study, and the results indicated that decreased miR-30e levels were associated with increased MTA1 levels in human HCC. miR-30e exerted its regulation of MTA1 transcription by binding to its 3'-untranslated region, and was negatively associated with EMT. Furthermore, significantly higher expression of MTA1 was associated with overexpression of v-erb-b2 avian erythroblastic leukemia viral oncogene homolog 2 (ErbB2) in human HCC, and MTA1 can promote transcription of ErbB2 by binding with histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) and acting as a promoter. The EMT promotion effect caused by MTA1 largely depended on ErbB2, and reducing the activity of ErbB2 can significantly attenuate EMT promotion by causing overexpression of MTA1 both in vitro and in vivo. In general, downregulation of miR-30e can increase levels of MTA1 in human HCC, and furthermore promote cell invasion and metastasis by promoting ErbB2.

The long non-coding RNA TP73-AS1 modulates HCC cell proliferation through miR-200a-dependent HMGB1/RAGE regulation

BACKGROUND

P73 antisense RNA 1 T (non-protein coding), also known as TP73-AS1, is a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) which is involved in cell proliferation and the development of tumors. However, the exact effects and molecular mechanisms of TP73-AS1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression are still unknown. The present study is aimed to investigate the detailed functions and the mechanism of TP73-AS1 in regulation of HCC cell proliferation.

METHODS

TP73-AS1 expression in HCC tissues and cell lines was determined using real-time PCR assays; the correlation of TP73-AS1 expression with clinicopathological features of HCC was analyzed. The functions of TP73-AS1 in regulation of HCC cell proliferation was evaluated using MTT and BrdU assays. The candidate upstream miRNAs of HMGB1 were screened using miRcode, miRWalk, miRanda and Target scan, verified using real-time PCR assays. The interaction between TP73-AS1 and miR-200a was confirmed using Luciferase report gene assays. The proten levels of HMGB1 signaling-related factors in response to co-processing TP73-AS1 knockdown and miR-200a inhibition were determined using Western blot assays and ELISA. Further, miR-200a, HMGB1 mRNA and RAGE mRNA and their correlations in HCC tissues were determined.

RESULTS

TP73-AS1 was upregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines. High TP73-AS1 expression was correlated with worse clinicopathological features, poorer prognosis and shorter survival. Knockdown of TP73-AS1 inhibited the HCC proliferation and the expression levels of HMGB1, RAGE and NF-κB in HCC cells. By using online tools, we screened out several candidate upstream miRNAs of HMGB1, among which miR-200a overexpression inhibited HMGB1 mRNA expression the most significantly. By using luciferase assays, we confirmed that miR-200a could directly bind to TP73-AS1 and the 3'UTR of HMGB1; TP73-AS1 competed with HMGB1 for miR-200a binding. MiR-200a inhibition could up-regulate HMGB1, RAGE, NF-κB expression as well as NF-κB regulated cytokines levels, which could be partially restored by si-TP73-AS1. In HCC tissues, miR-200a was down-regulated while HMGB1 and RAGE were up-regulated; TP73-AS1 was inversely correlated with miR-200a, while positively correlated with HMGB1 and RAGE, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Our data indicated that TP73-AS1 might be an oncogenic lncRNA that promoted proliferation of HCC and could be regarded as a therapeutic target in human HCC.

MiR-199a-5p suppresses tumorigenesis by targeting clathrin heavy chain in hepatocellular carcinoma

The deregulation of microRNA (miRNA) is frequently associated with a variety of cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we investigated the expression and possible role of miR-199a-5p in HCC. The expression of miR-199a-5p was measured by quantitative RT-PCR in HCC. The effect of miR-199a-5p was evaluated by cell viability and colony formation assays in HCC cell lines and tumor cell growth assay in xenograft nude mice. Quantitative real time PCR results showed that miR-199a-5p was down-regulated in 77.9 % (67/86) of HCC tissues compared with adjacent nontumor tissues. MiR-199a-5p mimic reduced cell viability and colony formation by induction of cell arrest in HCC cell lines and inhibited tumor cell growth in xenograft nude mice, but miR-199a-5p inhibitor increased cell viability and colony formation in HCC cell lines and tumor cell growth in xenograft nude mice. Furthermore, CLTC was defined as a potential direct target of miR-199a-5p by MiRanda and TargetScan predictions. The dual-luciferase reporter gene assay results showed that CLTC was a direct target of miR-199a-5p. The use of miR-199a-5p mimic or inhibitor could decrease or increase CLTC protein levels in HCC cell lines. We conclude that the frequently down-regulated miR-199a-5p can regulate CLTC and might function as a tumor suppressor in HCC. Therefore, miR-199a-5p may serve as a useful therapeutic agent for miRNA-based HCC therapy.

Knockdown of the differentially expressed gene TNFRSF12A inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation and migration in vitro

Human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been reported to be highly insensitive to conventional chemotherapy. In the current study, the Agilent Whole Human Genome Oligo Microarray (4×44 K) was used in order to identify the differentially expressed genes between HCC and adjacent tissues, and the top 22 differentially expressed genes were confirmed through reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Among the identified differences in gene expression, expression of tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 12A (TNFRSF12A) was markedly higher in HCC tissue than in adjacent tissue. Previous studies have suggested that TNFRSF12A may serve a role in tumor growth and metastasis, thus in the current study, TNFRSF12A was knocked down in the SMMC7721 cell line through siRNA. This demonstrated that cells exhibited reduced reproductive and metastatic capacity ex vivo. Thus, the results of the current study suggest that TNFRSF12A may be a candidate therapeutic target for cancer including HCC, and additional genes that exhibited significantly different expression from normal adjacent tissues require further study.