Title:The Role of MicroRNA in Pathogenesis and as Markers of HCV Chronic Infection
Volume: 18
Issue: 7
关键词:
生物标记物，循环miRNAs
摘要: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a worldwide major cause of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis,
and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Accumulating evidence indicates that a number of microRNAs
(miRNAs), which are able to exert an effect on liver biology and pathology, can regulate or be regulated
by HCV infection. Many studies demonstrate that HCV utilizes host miRNAs and modulates
expression of miRNAs in infected hepatocytes for its infection and propagation. In turn, host miRNAs
can directly regulate HCV replication through interaction with the HCV RNA genome or by indirectly
controlling the host pathways associated with the virus replication, which eventually induce
HCV-related liver diseases such as liver fibrosis, hepatic cirrhosis, or HCC. Recently, extracellular
miRNAs (circulating miRNAs) detected in human serum and plasma are proposed as biomarker candidates
for pathological conditions due to their remarkably stable nature and the non-invasiveness of
their detection. Since these circulating miRNAs exhibit consistent levels between healthy individuals
but significantly changed profiles in disease conditions, considerable effort has been employed to investigate
the alteration in the circulating miRNA pattern that is related with HCV infection and associated
liver diseases. In this review, we summarize the features of miRNAs critical for HCVassociated
liver disease initiation and progress, and discuss growing evidence that distinctive circulating
miRNA patterns are related with HCV infection and associated liver diseases. These will shed
light on the development of miRNA-based therapeutic modalities and non-invasive biomarkers for the
diagnosis and prognosis of HCV infection and associated diseases.
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