Clinical significance of miRNA-autophagy transcript expression in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Aim: This study integrates autophagy transcripts miRNAs expression based on bioinformatic analysis followed by clinical validation. Methodology: Cellular jun proto-oncogene mRNA, LAMP2 mRNA, miR-16 and miR-146a level were investigated in the serum and tissue of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), chronic hepatitis C and healthy volunteers by quantitative real-time PCR. The prognostic power of this serum RNA panel was explored. Results: The expression of serum cellular jun proto-oncogene mRNA, LAMP2 mRNA, miR-16 and miR-146a were positive in 85.1, 94, 97.1 and 84.2% HCC patients, respectively and they were correlated with tissue levels. Our results suggested that the chosen panel is an independent prognostic factor for survival in patients with HCC. Conclusion: The current work provides four RNA-based biomarker panel for HCC diagnosis and prognosis.