miRNA-141 and its target long non-coding RNA HOTAIR as diagnostic marker in hepatocellular carcinoma on top of hepatitis C virus

Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignancy of the liver. It is the fifth most common cancer worldwide. miRNAs are a group of non-coding small RNAs that regulate the expression of other protein-coding RNAs. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNAs) are known as key regulators of gene expression. This work aimed to study the interaction between lncRNA HOTAIR and miRNA- 141 expression in HCC patients on top of hepatitis C virus and to investigate their expression in patients with HCV in comparison to healthy controls. This study was conducted on 145 subjects: 45 healthy subjects, 50 HCC patients on top of HCV & 50 HCV patients. All subjects were subjected to: measurement of miRNA-141& HOTAIR expression in serum by real time PCR. The expression of lncRNA HOTAIR was significantly higher in HCV and HCC groups compared to control group (p value