Department of Gene Therapy and Hepatology, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra (UNAV), E-31008 Pamplona, Spain.
Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Mar 24;21(6):2255. doi: 10.3390/ijms21062255.
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are transcripts with poor coding capacity that may interact with proteins, DNA, or other RNAs to perform structural and regulatory functions. The lncRNA transcriptome changes significantly in most diseases, including cancer and viral infections. In this review, we summarize the functional implications of lncRNA-deregulation after infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV leads to chronic infection in many patients that may progress to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Most lncRNAs deregulated in infected cells that have been described function to potentiate or block the antiviral response and, therefore, they have a great impact on HCV viral replication. In addition, several lncRNAs upregulated by the infection contribute to viral release. Finally, many lncRNAs have been described as deregulated in HCV-related HCC that function to enhance cell survival, proliferation, and tumor progression by different mechanisms. Interestingly, some HCV-related HCC lncRNAs can be detected in bodily fluids, and there is great hope that they could be used as biomarkers to predict cancer initiation, progression, tumor burden, response to treatment, resistance to therapy, or tumor recurrence. Finally, there is high confidence that lncRNAs could also be used to improve the suboptimal long-term outcomes of current HCC treatment options.
长非编码 RNA（lncRNA）是一种编码能力较差的转录本，它可能与蛋白质、DNA 或其他 RNA 相互作用，以发挥结构和调节功能。lncRNA 转录组在大多数疾病中（包括癌症和病毒感染）都发生了显著变化。在这篇综述中，我们总结了丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）感染后 lncRNA 失调的功能意义。HCV 导致许多患者发生慢性感染，可能进展为肝硬化和肝细胞癌（HCC）。在已描述的受感染细胞中失调的大多数 lncRNA 可增强或阻断抗病毒反应，因此对 HCV 病毒复制有重大影响。此外，感染上调的几种 lncRNA 有助于病毒释放。最后，许多 lncRNA 在与 HCV 相关的 HCC 中被描述为失调，通过不同的机制增强细胞存活、增殖和肿瘤进展。有趣的是，一些与 HCV 相关的 HCC lncRNA 可以在体液中检测到，人们非常希望它们可以用作预测癌症发生、进展、肿瘤负荷、治疗反应、治疗耐药性或肿瘤复发的标志物。最后，lncRNA 也很有信心可用于改善当前 HCC 治疗选择的不理想长期预后。
