Clusters of Circulating let-7 Family Tumor Suppressors Are Associated with Clinical Characteristics of Chronic Hepatitis C

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Po-Cheng Liang¹  Ming-Lung Yu¹  Ming-Lun Yeh¹  Chung-Feng Huang¹  Wan-Long Chuang¹  Yi-Hung Lin¹  Pei-Chien Tsai¹  Zu-Yau Lin¹  Meng-Hsuan Hsieh¹  Jee-Fu Huang¹  Chia-Yen Dai¹  Yi-Shan Tsai¹  Shinn-Cherng Chen¹  Ta-Wei Liu¹  Ching-I Huang¹ 

[1] Hepatobiliary Division, Department of Internal Medicine and Hepatitis Center, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan;

关键词: chronic hepatitis C;    let-7 family;    hepatitis C virus;    miRNA;    biomarker;    hepatocellular carcinoma;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms21144945

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections can cause permanent liver-related diseases, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Low mortality and incidence of HCC have been observed in patients with chronic hepatitis C undergoing direct-acting antiviral therapy. Tumor suppressive let-7 family members are down-regulated in HCC. The present study, therefore, aimed to investigate whether expression levels for the full spectrum of let-7 family members (let-7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e, 7f, 7g, 7i, and miR-98) in the circulatory system are useful as surveillance biomarkers for liver-related diseases to monitor treatment efficacy during HCV infection. To this end, we measured the levels of mature circulating let-7 family members using quantitative reverse transcription-PCR in 236 patients with HCV infection, and 147 age- and sex-matched controls. Using hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis, three clusters were obtained after measuring expression levels of let-7 family members in the patients and controls. Cluster 1 included let-7a/d/e/g, Cluster 2 comprised let-7b and let-7i, and Cluster 3 comprised let-7c/f/miR-98. Let-7b/c/g represented the three clusters and showed the best survival response to liver cancer when analyzed with respect to patient data. Therefore, considering the circulating levels of let7 b/c/g as representatives of the let-7 family may facilitate effective monitoring of liver-related disease.

【 授权许可】

Unknown