Comprehensive analysis of long non-coding RNA expression profiles in hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

// Xianli Gong 1 , Wei Wei 1 , Lan Chen 1 , Zhi Xia 1 , Chengbo Yu 2 1 Department of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, China 2 State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine Zhejiang University, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou 310003, China Correspondence to: Chengbo Yu, email: [e-mail] Keywords: hepatitis B virus, hepatocellular carcinoma, lncRNA, expression profile Received: March 05, 2016     Accepted: May 09, 2016     Published: June 7, 2016 ABSTRACT Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common kinds of malignancies and is closely correlated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Recent evidence has proved that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are implicated in development and progression of cancer. However, the contributions of lncRNAs to HBV-related HCC remain largely unknown. Here, we comprehensively investigated lncRNA expression profiles in HBV-related HCC by annotating and analyzing microarray datasets. By analyzing 42 HCC tissue samples with different etiology (HBV-related, alcohol-related, and primary HCC) and 15 normal liver tissues, we identified 182 lncRNAs that were specifically differentially expressed in HBV-related HCC, namely HBV-related HCC specific lncRNAs(HH-lncRNAs). Using an online function annotation tool, we found these HH-lncRNAs were associated many oncogenes and immunity related biological processes. 6 candidate HH-lncRNAs were selected and further validated by quantitative real-time PCR analysis in a cohort of HCC tissue samples. Function of a candidate HH-lncRNAs, BAIAP2-AS1, was further predicted by co-expression network and gene set enrichment analysis. These findings provide insights into HH-lncRNAs and offer resource for further search of biomarkers and therapeutic targets of HBV-related HCC.