title: Role of MicroRNAs in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, noncoding RNAs that play an important role in posttranscriptional gene regulation and function as negative gene regulators. They are an abundant class of RNA, each of which can control hundreds of gene targets and regulate diverse biological processes such as hematopoiesis, organogenesis, apoptosis and cell proliferation. Aberrant miRNA expression contributes to tumorigenesis and cancer progression.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study we provided a summarized review of the most important new data available on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-associated miRNAs. The data were collected through searching the related keywords and were categorized and summarized in different sections.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Researchers have reported that miRNAs can repress the expression of important cancer-related genes and might be helpful in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. During the past two decades, numerous studies have shown that miRNAs play an essential role in inhibiting HCC via several different pathways. Deregulated miRNAs may contribute to carcinogenesis, indicating that miRNAs can act as tumor suppressors and oncogenes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this mini review, we highlight current findings and discuss recent work to determine the contribution of miRNA expression to the maintenance and growth of HCC, thereby providing a significant source of hope that miRNAs could serve as therapeutic targets.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, National Foot and Mouth Disease Reference Laboratory, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Zixiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, National Foot and Mouth Disease Reference Laboratory, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xiangle
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Guoqing
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, National Foot and Mouth Disease Reference Laboratory, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Haixue
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zheng
keywords: Hepatocellular Carcinoma; MicroRNAs; Regulation; Therapeutic Targets