A recent work of Iliopoulos et al published in Cell highlighted a circuit orchestrated by microRNAs (miRNAs) that results in liver tumorigenesis and inflammation. This feedback loop, governed by miR-24 and miR-629, promotes a hepatocyte nuclear factor-4α transient inhibition resulting in miR-124 induction and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 activation. These promising data support the use of miRNA mimics or inhibitors as potent therapeutic approaches in liver cancer.
Keywords: Hepatocellular oncogenesis; Hepatocyte nuclear factor-4α; Interleukin-6; MicroRNA; Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3.