Hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatitis C virus infection and miRNA involvement: Perspectives for new therapeutic approaches

Abstract

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the principal etiology of cirrhosis and, ultimately, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). At present, approximately 71 million people are chronically infected with HCV, and 10%-20% of these are expected to develop severe liver complications throughout their lifetime. Scientific evidence has clearly shown the causal association between miRNAs, HCV infection and HCC. Although it is not completely clear whether miRNA dysregulation in HCC is the cause or the consequence of its development, variations in miRNA patterns have been described in different liver diseases, including HCC. Many studies have analyzed the importance of circulating miRNAs and their effect on cell proliferation and apoptosis. In this Review, we aim to summarize current knowledge on the association between miRNA, HCV and HCC from a diagnostic point of view, and also the potential implications for therapeutic approaches.

Keywords: Direct-acting antivirals; Extracellular vesicles; Hepatitis C virus; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Liver; Transplantation; miRNA; miRNAs.

Figure 1

Schematic representation of some major miRNAs upregulated in serum after hepatocellular carcinoma occurrence. Noteworthy, some of them (mir-122 and mi-R34a) display a tumor suppressor effect and represent not only a diagnostic target, but have been proposed in novel therapeutic approaches (Figure was created using BioRender.com). HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; LNA: Locked nucleic acid; MSC: Mesenchymal stem cell.