The lncRNAs in HBV-Related HCCs: Targeting Chromatin Dynamics and Beyond.
Vincenzo AlfanoMirjam B ZeiselMassimo LevreroFrancesca GuerrieriPublished in: Cancers (2021)
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents the fourth leading and fastest rising cause of cancer death (841,000 new cases and 782,000 deaths annually), and hepatitis B (HBV), with 250 million people chronically infected at risk of developing HCC, accounts for >50% of the cases worldwide. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), untranslated transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides, are implicated in gene regulation at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels, exerting their activities both in the nuclear and cytoplasmic compartments. Thanks to high-throughput sequencing techniques, several lncRNAs have been shown to favor the establishment of chronic HBV infection, to change the host transcriptome to establish a pro-carcinogenic environment, and to directly participate in HCC development and progression. In this review, we summarize current knowledge on the role of lncRNAs in HBV infection and HBV-related liver carcinogenesis and discuss the potential of lncRNAs as predictive or diagnostic biomarkers.
Keyphrases
- hepatitis b virus
- liver failure
- long non coding rna
- gene expression
- network analysis
- transcription factor
- genome wide identification
- genome wide analysis
- healthcare
- genome wide
- poor prognosis
- dna damage
- squamous cell carcinoma
- dna methylation
- risk assessment
- oxidative stress
- single cell
- climate change
- lymph node metastasis
- heat shock protein