Huang Yuan-Shuai, Dai Yong, Yu Xiao-Fang, Bao Shi-Yun, Yin Yi-Bing, Tang Min, Hu Cheng-Xiao
Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medical Diagnostics, Ministry of Education, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2008 Jan;23(1):87-94. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1746.2007.05223.x.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding RNA molecules of 21-24 nt that regulate the expression of target genes in a post-transcriptional manner. Evidence indicates that miRNAs play essential roles in embryogenesis, cell differentiation, and pathogenesis of human diseases including cancer.
We analyzed the miRNA expression profiles in 10 pairs of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and adjacent non-tumorous tissue (NT) from 10 non-viral hepatitis patients, using a mammalian miRNA microarray containing whole human mature and precursor miRNA sequences.
A total of 15 miRNAs exhibited higher expression in the HCC samples than that in the NT samples, and one miRNA demonstrated lower expression in the HCC samples than in the NT samples. A total of 18 miRNAs identified valid expression only in HCC samples, with six only in NT samples. The chip results were confirmed by Northern blot analysis.
Our study may help clarify the molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of HCC, and miRNAs potentially serve as a novel diagnostic tool of HCC.
微小RNA（miRNA）是一类长度为21 - 24个核苷酸的非编码RNA分子，它们以转录后调控的方式调节靶基因的表达。有证据表明，miRNA在胚胎发育、细胞分化以及包括癌症在内的人类疾病发病机制中发挥着重要作用。
我们使用包含全人类成熟和前体miRNA序列的哺乳动物miRNA芯片，分析了10例非病毒性肝炎患者的10对肝细胞癌（HCC）组织及其癌旁非肿瘤组织（NT）中的miRNA表达谱。
共有15种miRNA在HCC样本中的表达高于NT样本，1种miRNA在HCC样本中的表达低于NT样本。共有18种miRNA仅在HCC样本中检测到有效表达，6种仅在NT样本中检测到有效表达。芯片结果通过Northern印迹分析得到证实。
我们的研究可能有助于阐明HCC发病机制中的分子机制，并且miRNA有可能作为一种新型的HCC诊断工具。
