Dysregulated long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in hepatocellular carcinoma: implications for tumorigenesis, disease progression, and liver cancer stem cells

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumours with a poor prognosis worldwide. While early stage tumours can be treated with curative approaches such as liver transplantation or surgical resection, these are only suitable for a minority of patients. Those with advanced stage disease are only suitable for supportive approaches and most are resistant to the conventional chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) are a small subset of cancer cells with unlimited differentiation ability and tumour forming potential. In order to develop novel therapeutic approaches for HCC, we need to understand how the cancer develops and why treatment resistance occurs. Using high-throughput sequencing techniques, a large number of dysregulated long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified, and some of which are closely linked to key aspects of liver cancer pathology, progression, outcomes and for the maintenance of cancer stem cell-like properties. In addition, some lncRNAs are potential biomarkers for HCC diagnosis and may serve as the therapeutic targets. This review summarizes data recently reported lncRNAs that might be critical for the maintenance of the biological properties of LCSCs.

LncRNA SNHG3 induces EMT and sorafenib resistance by modulating the miR‐128/CD151 pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma

“…Because distant migration and sorafenib resistance are two key obstacles to the poor prognosis of HCC, understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying these malignant features and exploring novel therapeutic targets is urgent. Recently, increased lncRNAs were reported to be dysregulated in HCC tissues and involved in HCC progression (Huo et al, ; Wang et al, ; Yang et al, ). Recently, Zhang et al,(2016b) reported that increased SNHG3 expression is associated with malignant status and poor prognosis in patients with HCC.…”

“…A scatter plot of SNHG3 and CD151 expression in HCC tissues revealed a positive correlation between SNHG3 and CD151 at both RNA (R 2 = 0.2046; p = 0.0017; Figure 6a) and protein (R 2 = 0.5261; p < 0.0001; Figure 6b) levels. reported to be dysregulated in HCC tissues and involved in HCC progression (Huo et al, 2017;Wang et al, 2016;Yang et al, 2017).…”

The predictive value of lncRNA MIR31HG expression on clinical outcomes in patients with solid malignant tumors

“…Studies were included based on the following inclusion criteria: [1] original studies; [2] the diagnosis of cancer was validated by pathology and histology; [3] studies exploring the correlation between MIR31HG and cancers; [4] MIR31HG expression levels were measured and divided into high or low expression group; [5] reporting of at least one of the endpoints: overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS) and relapsefree survival (RFS), et al; [6] sufficient data: the hazard ratios (HRs) or odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) or K-M survival curves were shown; [7] the more recent article was selected if duplicated researches were reported.…”

“…On contrary, studies were excluded due to following exclusion criteria: [1] article type: meta-analysis, reviews, editorial material, or case reports; [2] in vivo or in vitro studies without clinical data; [3] sufficient survival data were not provided or cannot be extracted; [4] full text was not accessible; [5] duplicates.…”

“…In spite of notable continuous advances in cancer treatment over the last decades, the patients' survival rate remains disappointed [2]. Nowadays, only a minority of patients in early clinical stage could benefit from curative approaches, while the rest patients, particularly those with advanced stage, may be resistant to conventional treatments [3]. Against this backdrop, it is necessary to explore reliable biomarkers harboring sufficient sensitivity and specificity for early diagnosis and attractive targets for therapeutic intervention before reaching to advanced stages [4,5].…”