The emerging roles of non-coding competing endogenous RNA in hepatocellular carcinoma

Cancer Cell International

Wei-Yu Xu¹  Zhong-Tao Zhang¹  Gang Xu²  Bao Jin²  Yao Xiao²  Shun-Da Du²  Yi-lei Mao² 

[1] Department of General Surgery, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University; Beijing Key Laboratory of Cancer Invasion and Metastasis Research & National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases, No. 95 Yong-An Road, Xi-Cheng District, 100050, Beijing, People’s Republic of China;Department of Liver Surgery, Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) Hospital and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, 1# Shuaifuyuan, Wangfujing, Dong-Cheng District, 100730, Beijing, China;

关键词: Hepatocellular carcinoma;    Noncoding RNA;    Competing endogenous RNA;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12935-020-01581-5

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

Accumulating evidence has emerged revealing that noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) play essential roles in the occurrence and development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the complicated regulatory interactions among various ncRNAs in the development of HCC are not entirely understood. The newly discovered mechanism of competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) uncovered regulatory interactions among different varieties of RNAs. In recent years, a growing number of studies have suggested that ncRNAs, including long ncRNAs, circular RNAs and pseudogenes, play major roles in the biological functions of the ceRNA network in HCC. These ncRNAs can share microRNA response elements to affect microRNA affinity with target RNAs, thus regulating gene expression at the transcriptional level and both physiological and pathological processes. The ncRNAs that function as ceRNAs are involved in diverse biological processes in HCC cells, such as tumor cell proliferation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, invasion, metastasis and chemoresistance. Based on these findings, ncRNAs that act as ceRNAs may be promising candidates for clinical diagnosis and treatments. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms and research methods of ceRNA networks. We also reviewed the recent advances in studying the roles of ncRNAs as ceRNAs in HCC and highlight possible directions and possibilities of ceRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers or therapeutic targets. Finally, the limitations, gaps in knowledge and opportunities for future research are also discussed.

【 授权许可】

CC BY