Dysregulation of selected lncRNAs and Hippo/EMT-associated genes in hepatocellular carcinoma patients

Authors

  • Ana Maria Ciurdorean
  • Paul Chiroi
  • Liviuta Budisan
  • Ekaterina Isachesku
  • Alexandra Trif
  • Stefan Strilciuc
  • Daniel Gabriel Cosma
  • Ioana Rusu
  • Andra Ciocan
  • Razvan Ciocan
  • Ioana Berindan-Neagoe https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5828-1325
  • Nadim Al Hajjar

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15386/mpr-3032

Keywords:

hepatocellular carcinoma, RNA, long noncoding, gene expression profiling, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, Hippo signaling pathway, real-time polymerase chain reaction

Abstract

Background and aim: Liver cancer remains the sixth most common malignancy and the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, with hepatocellular carcinoma accounting for most cases. Long non-coding RNAs regulate hepatocarcinogenesis by modulating proliferation, epithelial–mesenchymal transition, and invasion. This study aimed to characterize the expression of three such transcripts (MALAT1, NEAT1, NKILA) and two protein-coding genes of the Hippo/EMT axis (YAP1, SNAI1) in a single-center Romanian cohort of hepatocellular carcinoma patients and to interpret the resulting pattern in relation to the existing literature.

Methods: Tumoral and non-tumoral liver tissue samples were obtained from patients with non-metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing surgical resection. Total RNA was extracted using TRIzol, reverse-transcribed, and quantified by SYBR Green–based qRT-PCR on a QuantStudio 7 Flex platform. Relative expression was calculated by the ΔΔCt method, normalized to B2M and 18S rRNA, and compared between the two groups using GraphPad Prism; p < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: 39 tumoral and 39 non-tumoral tissue samples were analyzed. MALAT1 (p = 0.0008), YAP1 (p = 0.0016), and SNAI1 (p = 0.0365) were significantly overexpressed in tumoral tissue, whereas NEAT1 was significantly reduced (p = 0.0320). NKILA showed no significant difference between groups (p = 0.3592). Effect sizes were graded, with the strongest separation for MALAT1 and YAP1 and more modest differences for SNAI1 and NEAT1.

Conclusion: MALAT1, YAP1, and SNAI1 overexpression in hepatocellular carcinoma was confirmed in a single-center cohort from Romania, including predominantly early-stage subjects. The reduction of NEAT1 diverges from most prior reports and may reflect isoform-specific detection or the molecular abnormality of the cirrhotic tissue comparator. Future work should incorporate isoform-specific assays, etiology-stratified cohorts, and outcome correlation.

 

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Published

2026-09-21

How to Cite

1.
Ciurdorean AM, Chiroi P, Budisan L, Isachesku E, Trif A, Strilciuc S, Cosma DG, Rusu I, Ciocan A, Ciocan R, Berindan-Neagoe I, Al Hajjar N. Dysregulation of selected lncRNAs and Hippo/EMT-associated genes in hepatocellular carcinoma patients. Med Pharm Rep [Internet]. 2026 Sep. 21 [cited 2026 Oct. 10];. Available from: https://medpharmareports.com/index.php/mpr/article/view/3032

Issue

Ahead of print

Section

Original Research

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Copyright (c) 2026 Ana Maria Ciurdorean, Paul Chiroi, Liviuta Budisan, Ekaterina Isachesku, Alexandra Trif, Stefan Strilciuc, Daniel Gabriel Cosma, Ioana Rusu, Andra Ciocan, Razvan Ciocan, Ioana Berindan-Neagoe, Nadim Al Hajjar

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