Editor's note:The 74th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD 2023) was held in Boston, USA from November 10 to 14, 2023 local time.
One of the reasons why HCV causes liver cancer progresses poorly** is that its pathogenesis is not simply due to the continuous accumulation of inflammation. The molecular changes that occur in cells that are persistently infected with HBV and the effect of infected cells on pathogenesis are unknown.
2023 Post Sprint Race Recently, a Japanese study published in the abstract of the AASLD 2023 conference showed that:mir-4461level inhbvSignificantly reduced in infected liver tissue and lower in liver cancer tissue, suggestingmir-4461Probably**hbvBiomarkers available for associated liver cancer. 
Research Methods:After infection of primary hepatocytes with HBV, single-cell sequencing is performed. Compare single-cell sequencing data for HBV RNA-positive and HBV RNA-negative hepatocytes (populations of cells in the same environment) in the same dish. The levels of MIR-4461 in HBV RNA-positive and HBV-negative HUH7 and HEPG2 cells were detected, and the proliferation, invasion and migration ability of the cells were analyzed. In vitro experiments were performed to explore the target genes bound to miR-4461. Hepatitis B and non-hepatitis B and hepatitis C liver cancer and non-liver cancer tissues were quantitatively measured for miR-4461.
Findings:InhbvInfected hepatocytes,mir-4461Significantly reduced。The expression of MIR-4461 decreased after transfection of the HBV replication plasmid into HUH7 and HEPG2 cells. siRNA knockout of miR-4461 enhances HUH7 and HEPG2 cellsProliferate, invasion, and migration abilities
Expression levels of mir-4461 were verified in hepatitis B and non-hepatitis B hepatitis C HCC tissues. There was no significant difference in the expression of mir-4461 in non-hepatitis B and non-HCC tissues compared with normal liver tissues. WhileIn hepatitis B-associated liver cancer tissue specimens,mir-4461The expression level is lower than that of normal liver tissue（p < 0.05），The expression level of hepatocellular carcinoma region was lower than that of non-hepatocellular carcinoma region（p < 0.05）。
The target gene of mir-4461 was analyzed using a database and in vitro experimentsfgaGenes aremir-4461One of the targets
Conclusions of the studyThe miR-4461 pathway may be involved in the establishment and pathogenesis of HBV infection. Mir-4461 levels were significantly reduced in HBV-infected liver tissues and lower in HCC tissues, suggesting that this pathway may be a biomarker available for HBV-related HCC.
Liver Linjun has something to sayAccurate and effective biomarkers are key for clinical patient management, which can screen high-risk groups earlier and better, prevent and avoid disease progression as soon as possible, and thus reduce the risk of liver cancer. The existing biomarkers of HBV-related liver cancer include: AFP, DCP, AFP-L3%, GALAD score, etc. A number of previous studies have shown that both HBCRag and exosomal microRNA have shown good application prospects in monitoring the occurrence of HBV-related liver cancer. With the deepening of basic research, there are more non-invasive options for liver cancer surveillance in patients with chronic hepatitis B, so it is more important to actively monitor to improve the early diagnosis rate of liver cancer and timely intervention**.
References:
sakai a, sugiyama m. mir-4461 associated with hepatitis b-derived hepatocellular carcinomas. aasld2023, abstract (1321-c).
Hepatitis B.