Identification of a Functional ceRNA Network to Explore Potential Biomarkers for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Zhijun Jiang; Yu Zhang; Xinyu Liu; Jingchen Liang; Guanhua Qiu; Xiaoqi Zhu; Jie Chen; Lequn Li

doi:10.2147/OTT.S278912

Identification of a Functional ceRNA Network to Explore Potential Biomarkers for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Onco Targets Ther. 2020 Dec 1:13:12341-12355. doi: 10.2147/OTT.S278912. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Zhijun Jiang^#¹, Yu Zhang^#¹, Xinyu Liu¹, Jingchen Liang², Guanhua Qiu², Xiaoqi Zhu², Jie Chen¹, Lequn Li¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital, Nanning, People's Republic of China.
² Department of Ultrasound, Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital, Nanning, People's Republic of China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Purpose: To establish a novel circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network associated with the poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Materials and methods: Quantitative real-time PCR was used to verify the differentially expressed circRNA. Moreover, the competing endogenous RNA networks were established using bioinformatics methods. Meanwhile, the prognostic value and potential mechanism of ceRNA network in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were analyzed.

Results: This work found that circ_0130911 was highly expressed in HCC tissues and early recurring HCC. Further, we effectively constructed a ceRNA network. The ceRNA network regulated by circ_0130911 might influence the prognosis of HCC by regulating cell cycle-related pathways.

Conclusion: The ceRNA network proposed here can be used as a novel biomarker for the prognosis of HCC, thereby providing new insights for the targeted therapy of HCC.

Keywords: biomarker; ceRNAs; circRNAs; hepatocellular carcinoma.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 81960534 and 81860512) and the Innovation Driven Development Project of Guangxi (AA18221001).