The role of noncoding RNAs in the tumor microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma

Acta Biochim Biophys Sin (Shanghai). 2023 Nov 25;55(11):1697-1706. doi: 10.3724/abbs.2023231.

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the leading fatal malignancy worldwide. The tumor microenvironment (TME) can affect the survival, proliferation, migration, and even dormancy of cancer cells. Hypoxia is an important component of the TME, and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) is the most important transcriptional regulator. Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), including microRNAs (miRNAs), long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs), comprise a large part of the human transcriptome and play an important role in regulating the tumorigenesis of HCC. This review discusses the role of ncRNAs in hepatocarcinogenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and angiogenesis in a hypoxic microenvironment, as well as the interactions between ncRNAs and key components of the TME. It further discusses their use as biomarkers and the potential clinical value of drugs, as well as the challenges faced in the future.

Keywords: HIF-1α; hepatocellular carcinoma; noncoding RNAs; tumor microenvironment.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers
  • Carcinogenesis
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* / pathology
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Humans
  • Hypoxia
  • Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit
  • Liver Neoplasms* / pathology
  • MicroRNAs* / genetics
  • RNA, Long Noncoding* / genetics
  • Tumor Microenvironment / genetics

Substances

  • MicroRNAs
  • Biomarkers
  • RNA, Long Noncoding
  • Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit

Grants and funding

This work was supported in part by the grants from the Shandong Province Medicine and Health Science and Technology Development Project (No. 2019WS596) and the Shanghai Science and Technology Committee (No. 20S11901300).