Role of Long Noncoding RNA LINC01134 in Metastasis of Hepatitis C Virus-related Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Role of Long Noncoding RNA LINC01134 in Metastasis of Hepatitis C Virus-related Hepatocellular Carcinoma

LINC01134, a novel lncRNA, has received increasing attention in cancer research, particularly in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It had been shown that LINC01134 promotes HCC progression by facilitating tumor proliferation, migration, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, oxaliplatin resistance, and radio resistance (Wang et al,2021).

Functional experiments revealed that ectopic expression of LINC01134 promotes HCC cell migration and invasion in vitro and HCC liver metastasis and lung metastasis in vivo. Knockdown of LINC01134 represses HCC cell migration and invasion in vitro and HCC liver metastasis and lung metastasis in vivo (Wang et al, 2020).

Metastasis and recurrence are the main causes of HCC-induced deaths even with curative resection (Huang et al., 2019; Sakamoto et al., 2019). Therefore, we focused on the lncRNAs implicated in the metastasis and recurrence of HCC. In the current research, we attempted to examine the expression profile and explore the function of LINC01134 in the metastasis of HCC. It has been well established that lncRNAs expressed in the cytoplasm can serve as competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) to sponge miRNAs, by which they negatively regulate the translation of mRNAs.

Inclusion Criteria:

• The diagnosis of HCV infection will be based on positive HCV antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) & HCV RNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for more than 6 months. The diagnosis of liver cirrhosis will be based on clinical data and findings on abdominal ultrasound. The diagnosis of HCC will be based on the typical features of dynamic imaging by triphasic CT with or without elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels (Murakami et al., 2002).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Co-infection with HBV.

  • Presence of clinically suspected other causes of hepatocellular injury (any history of alcoholism, autoimmune hepatitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), Wilson's disease, fatty liver disease with metabolic syndrome & drug-induced liver disease.
  • Patients diagnosed with other malignancies.
  • Patients with a history of prior local or systemic HCC-specific treatment.