Clinical Significance of Non-Coding RNA Regulation of Programmed Cell Death in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a widely prevalent and malignantly progressive tumor. Most patients are typically diagnosed with HCC at an advanced stage, posing significant challenges in the execution of curative surgical interventions. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) represent a distinct category of RNA molecules not directly involved in protein synthesis. However, they possess the remarkable ability to regulate gene expression, thereby exerting significant regulatory control over cellular processes. Notably, ncRNAs have been implicated in the modulation of programmed cell death (PCD), a crucial mechanism that various therapeutic agents target in the fight against HCC. This review summarizes the clinical significance of ncRNA regulation of PCD in HCC, including patient diagnosis, prognosis, drug resistance, and side effects. The aim of this study is to provide new insights and directions for the diagnosis and drug treatment strategies of HCC.

Keywords: drug resistance; hepatocellular carcinoma; non-coding RNA; prognosis; programmed cell death.

Figure 1

Competing endogenous (ceRNA) network mechanism. ceRNA₁ and ceRNA₂ possess the same miRNA-responsive elements (MREs), thus allowing them to bind miRNA₁ competitively. The increased expression of ceRNA₁ levels allows for a competitive binding with a high number of miRNA₁ molecules. This leads to a reduction in the ceRNA₂ that is inhibited by miRNA₁, resulting in increased expression of ceRNA₂.

Figure 2

lncRNAs associated with PCD in the construction of survival prognostic models.

Figure 3

The regulation of chemotherapy drug side effects by ncRNAs-regulated programmed cell death.