MASVE Interdepartmental Hepatology Center, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Center for Research and Innovation CRIA-MASVE, 50134 Firenze, Italy.
Viruses. 2020 Nov 29;12(12):1364. doi: 10.3390/v12121364.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major public health problem. HCV is a hepatotropic and lymphotropic virus that leads to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and lymphoproliferative disorders such as cryoglobulinemic vasculitis (CV) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). The molecular mechanisms by which HCV induces these diseases are not fully understood. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding molecules that negatively regulate post-transcriptional gene expression by decreasing their target gene expression. We will attempt to summarize the current knowledge on the role of miRNAs in the HCV life cycle, HCV-related HCC, and lymphoproliferative disorders, focusing on both the functional effects of their deregulation as well as on their putative role as biomarkers, based on association analyses. We will also provide original new data regarding the miR 17-92 cluster in chronically infected HCV patients with and without lymphoproliferative disorders who underwent antiviral therapy. All of the cluster members were significantly upregulated in CV patients compared to patients without CV and significantly decreased in those who achieved vasculitis clinical remission after viral eradication. To conclude, miRNAs play an important role in HCV infection and related oncogenic processes, but their molecular pathways are not completely clear. In some cases, they may be potential therapeutic targets or non-invasive biomarkers of tumor progression.
丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）是一个主要的公共卫生问题。HCV 是一种嗜肝和嗜淋巴病毒，可导致肝细胞癌（HCC）和淋巴增生性疾病，如冷球蛋白血症性血管炎（CV）和非霍奇金淋巴瘤（NHL）。HCV 诱导这些疾病的分子机制尚未完全阐明。微小 RNA（miRNA）是一种小的非编码分子，通过降低靶基因的表达来负调控转录后基因表达。我们将尝试总结 miRNA 在 HCV 生命周期、HCV 相关 HCC 和淋巴增生性疾病中的作用的现有知识，重点关注其失调的功能效应以及作为生物标志物的潜在作用，基于关联分析。我们还将提供关于慢性 HCV 感染患者和接受抗病毒治疗的无淋巴增生性疾病患者的 miR 17-92 簇的原始新数据。与无 CV 患者相比，CV 患者的所有簇成员均显著上调，而在病毒清除后达到血管炎临床缓解的患者中则显著降低。总之，miRNA 在 HCV 感染和相关致癌过程中发挥重要作用，但它们的分子途径尚不完全清楚。在某些情况下，它们可能是潜在的治疗靶点或肿瘤进展的非侵入性生物标志物。
