Expression of microRNA let-7a positively correlates with hepatitis B virus replication in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues

作者：Dongni Qiu, Jian Chen, Jie Liu, Zhongguang Luo, Weiru Jiang, Jianping Huang, Zhibing Qiu, Wenjie Yue, Lijun Wu · 发表于：Experimental Biology and Medicine · 年份：2017 · DOI：10.1177/1535370217697382 · 被引用次数：18 · 研究领域：MicroRNA in disease regulation、RNA Interference and Gene Delivery、Hepatitis B Virus Studies

Let-7a miRNA is downregulated in various cancers. However, in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV), the relationship between let-7a and HBV replication has not been fully elucidated. Liver specimens were collected from 23 HCC patients with chronically active HBV. The serum levels of the HBV antigens hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis B virus e antigen (HBeAg), and the HBV antibodies, anti-HBs, anti-HBe and anti-hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) were measured using the microparticle enzyme immunoassay. Let-7a levels and HBV DNA copy numbers were measured by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and analyzed statistically. A let-7a specific antisense oligonucleotide was introduced to the HBV-producing cell line HepG2.2.15 and a change in HBV DNA copy numbers was assessed by qRT-PCR. HCC patients with highly active HBV replication (>10 6 DNA copies/mL) showed higher levels of serum HBsAg and anti-HBc than patients with less active HBV replication (<10 3 DNA copies/mL). The level of let-7a was lower in malignant tissues than in adjacent normal tissues. However, patients with highly active HBV replication demonstrated a significantly higher level of let-7a in hepatocarcinoma tissue than patients with less active HBV replication ( P < 0.05). A higher level of let-7a was observed in the HBV-producing cell line HepG2.2.15 than in HepG2 cells ( P < 0.05), and let-7a down-regulation by antisense oligonucleotides led t...