Badami E, Busà R, Douradinha B, Russelli G, Miceli V, Gallo A, Zito G, Conaldi PG, Iannolo G. Hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatitis C virus infection and miRNA involvement: Perspectives for new therapeutic approaches. World J Gastroenterol 2022; 28(22): 2417-2428 [PMID: 35979260 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v28.i22.2417]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Gioacchin Iannolo, BSc, PhD, Research Scientist, Department of Research, Mediterranean Institute for Transplantation and Advanced Specialized Therapies (IRCCS-ISMETT), Via E. Tricomi 5, Palermo 90127, Italy. giannolo@ismett.edu
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 14, 2022; 28(22): 2417-2428 Published online Jun 14, 2022. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v28.i22.2417
Hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatitis C virus infection and miRNA involvement: Perspectives for new therapeutic approaches
Ester Badami, Rosalia Busà, Bruno Douradinha, Giovanna Russelli, Vitale Miceli, Alessia Gallo, Giovanni Zito, Pier Giulio Conaldi, Gioacchin Iannolo
Ester Badami, Bruno Douradinha, Regenerative Medicine and Immunotherapy Area, Fondazione Ri.MED, Palermo 90127, Italy
Rosalia Busà, Giovanna Russelli, Vitale Miceli, Alessia Gallo, Giovanni Zito, Pier Giulio Conaldi, Gioacchin Iannolo, Department of Research, Mediterranean Institute for Transplantation and Advanced Specialized Therapies (IRCCS-ISMETT), Palermo 90127, Italy
Author contributions: Badami E, Busà R, Douradinha B, Russelli G, Miceli V, Gallo A, Zito G, Conaldi PG and Iannolo G carried out the research for the manuscript and edited all drafts of the paper; Badami E, Busà R and Douradinha B equally contributed to the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Gioacchin Iannolo, BSc, PhD, Research Scientist, Department of Research, Mediterranean Institute for Transplantation and Advanced Specialized Therapies (IRCCS-ISMETT), Via E. Tricomi 5, Palermo 90127, Italy. giannolo@ismett.edu
Received: February 16, 2022 Peer-review started: February 16, 2022 First decision: March 9, 2022 Revised: March 22, 2022 Accepted: April 15, 2022 Article in press: April 15, 2022 Published online: June 14, 2022
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.
Core tip: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most life-threatening cancers worldwide. Among other factors, HCC is frequently caused by chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Currently, the mechanisms responsible for its neoplastic transformation are not completely understood. Regardless of the recent discovery and therapeutic use of latest-generation direct-acting antivirals, HCC remains an unresolved problem, even after viral eradication. In this scenario, miRNAs can become both a diagnostic tool and, hopefully, a novel therapeutic approach.
