title: miRNAs affect the development of hepatocellular carcinoma via dysregulation of their biogenesis and expression.
abstract: The pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not fully understood, which has affected the early diagnosis and treatment of HCC and the survival time of patients. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of evolutionarily conserved small, non-coding RNAs, which regulate the expression of various genes post-transcriptionally. Emerging evidence indicates that the key enzymes involved in the miRNA biosynthesis pathway and some tumor-specific miRNAs are widely deregulated or upregulated in HCC and closely associated with the occurrence and development of various cancers, including HCC. Early studies have shown that miRNAs have critical roles in HCC progression by targeting many critical protein-coding genes, thereby contributing to the promotion of cell proliferation; the avoidance of apoptosis, inducing via angiogenesis; and the activation of invasion and metastasis pathways. Experimental data indicate that discovery of increasing numbers of aberrantly expressed miRNAs has opened up a new field for investigating the molecular mechanism of HCC progression. In this review, we describe the current knowledge about the roles and validated targets of miRNAs in the above pathways that are known to be hallmarks of HCC, and we also describe the influence of genetic variations in miRNA biosynthesis and genes.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Guangquan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mo
authors.forename: Zhijun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Jiuyang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Pixu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D021581:Active Transport, Cell Nucleus; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D063646:Carcinogenesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D002453:Cell Cycle; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs