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Long non-coding RNAs are involved with development and progression of cancer, and the advance of microarray technology allows the researchers to investigate the complete expression profile of lncRNA in various kinds of sample. We enrolled 5 male primary HCC cases with chronic HBV infection and the HCC and normal tissues have been obtained during the resection surgery. After total RNA extraction, the lncRNA microarray analysis was conducted to determine the lncRNA and mRNA expression signals. 612 lncRNAs and 1,064 mRNAs were significantly up-regulated in HCC tissue while 656 lncRNAs and 1,532 mRNAs were down-regulated in HCC tissues. Compared with normal tissues, XLOC_007433 (fold change: 12.80) and AC144449.1 (fold change: 27.20) were the most over- and under-expressed lncRNAs in HCC tissues. As for the mRNA, THBS4 (fold change:41.13) and CXCL14 (fold change: 58.03) were the most over- and under-expressed mRNAs in HCC tissues when comparing with their normal counterparts. In total, 4,552 pairs of lncRNA-mRNA were identified and the co-expression network was constructed. Moreover, the gene ontology enrichment analysis showed that the significantly different transcript between HCC and normal tissues were mainly associated with response to wounding, inflammatory response, protein hetrodimerization activity, response to stress which involved with biological process and molecular function. The pathway analysis suggested that the most significant pathways consisted of alcoholism, regulatory RNA pathways and RNA polymerase transcription. Several novel differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs were identified in the present study.

The innate immunity gene mannose-binding lectin2 (MBL2) has played an important role in hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, and the relationship between MBL2 variants and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk has not yet been identified. In total, 315 HCC cases and 315 healthy controls were enrolled and blood samples were acquired. High resolution melt analysis (HRM) was employed to genotype 6 polymorphisms in MBL2 gene. Increased HCC risk in carriers of LL genotype of -550 polymorphism with an adjusted OR (AOR) of 1.61 (95%CI = 1.00-2.57) was observed but no significant association detected in HL genotype. Both YX and XX genotype demonstrated a significantly elevated HCC risk in the analysis of -221 polymorphism. The B variants in codon 54 was also significantly associated with elevated HCC risk. HYB was identified as the protective factor of HCC while LXB was significantly associated with increase HCC risk. ELISA technique revealed that the MBL2 protein was significantly reduced in HCC cases. Moreover, both IL-1β and IL-6 were inversely associated with plasma MBL2 level.The mutations in MBL2 could lead to compromised innate immunity, and possibly lead to elevated HCC risk, and a novel haplotype HXB has been identified with a rate of 12.5%.

Incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ranked the fifth in male and ninth in the female counterparts, and 50% of incidence HCC cases were occurred in China with high hepatitis B virus (HBV) prevalence. HCC has seriously compromised the health status of general population in China. A case-control study of 314 HCC cases and 346 controls was conducted in Xiamen, which is an epidemic area in China for both hepatitis B infection and HCC. Face-to-face interview was conducted to gather information on demographic characteristics as well as exposure of environmental factors. Commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits were used to determine the status of serological markers of HBV infection. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated by using unconditional logistic regression. Multivariate unconditional logistic regression analysis was applied to evaluate the potential interactions of variables or confounders.As expected, HBV and alcohol intake still are the major risk factors of HCC. Liver disease history and passive smoking are also associated with elevated HCC risk. Indoor air pollution and pesticide exposure have newly identified as risk factors of HCC. Fruit and tea intake can significantly lower the HCC risk.The application of HBV vaccine and reduction on alcohol intake should be further promoted in high-risk population. Fruit and tea can be served as chemoprevention in daily life due to their high accessibility.

Background: Mannose-binding lectin2 (MBL2) is implicated in the host immune response, but there are limited data about MBL2 polymorphisms and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the MBL2 rs7096206 polymorphism and HCC risk in a Chinese Han population., Methods: A population-based case-control study of 220 HCC patients and 220 age- and gender-matched healthy control subjects from a Chinese Han population was conducted. Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples, and the presence of the MBL2 polymorphism rs7096206 was assessed using matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Conditional logistic regression was performed to assess the risk of HCC by determining odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs)., Results: The odds of HCC among carriers of CG and GG genotypes were 7.33 (95% CI, 2.53-21.29) and 12.48 (95% CI, 2.08-74.90), respectively. In the dominant genetic model, GG+CG carriers had an approximately 8-fold increased risk (95% CI, 2.83-22.62) compared with those with the CC genotype. The G allele was significantly associated with elevated HCC risk, with an odds ratio of 6.83 (95% CI, 2.90-16.10)., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the MBL2 polymorphism rs7096206 is associated with HCC susceptibility and has the potential to serve as a biomarker to detect populations at increased HCC risk.

Data concerning the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in an HBV-free population are currently limited. Therefore, we performed a case-control study to investigate the association between SNPs and the risk of HCC in individuals without chronic HBV infection. A total of 160 Han Chinese patients with HCC and an identical number of healthy controls were enrolled in this study. rs1042522, rs10814325, rs17401966, and rs2279744 genotypes were determined using matrix-associated laser desorption ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). CG and GG genotypes in rs1042522 and heterozygote and homozygote in rs2279744 were significantly associated with an elevated risk of HCC. Homozygous mutation of rs1081432 conferred a 2.68-fold risk of HCC (95% CI 1.35-5.34); however heterozygosity was not statistically significant. rs17401966 heterozygosity or homozygosity was not significantly associated with a increased risk of HCC. Several polymorphisms associated with a significantly increased risk of HCC were identified. These may serve as biomarkers in evaluating HCC risk in the general population.

Purpose: Large epidemiologic studies about the relationship between benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have been limited. B[a]P diol epoxide (BPDE) is a highly reactive metabolite of B[a]P that binds covalently to form DNA adducts. We evaluated the interaction between B[a]P exposure with other risk factors in HCC, in a case-control study of 345 HCC and 961 healthy controls., Methods: Concentration of BPDE-DNA adducts in blood was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The interaction between BPDE-DNA adducts and other risk factors on HCC were evaluated by multivariate logistic regression analysis., Results: Mean concentration of BPDE-DNA adducts in blood of cases was significantly higher than that of the controls. The risk of HCC increased with elevated concentration of BPDE-DNA adducts (x(2) = 203.57, Ptrend < .001) and the odds ratio was 7.44 (95% confidence interval, 5.29-10.45) for the first versus fourth quartile of adduct levels. The relative excess risk due to interaction between BPDE-DNA adducts and hepatitis B virus surface antigen and drinking was 34.71 and 54.92, and the attributable proportion due to interaction was 41.53% and 75.59%, respectively., Conclusions: The high level of BPDE-DNA adducts in blood is associated with HCC and that environmental exposure to B[a]P may increase the risk of HCC, especially among drinkers and populations with hepatitis B virus infection., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is highly prevalent in China. Although hepatitis B virus (HBV) and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) are considered the major risk factors, among the high-risk cohorts only a small fraction develops liver cancer. Therefore, we investigated whether organochlorine pesticide exposure contributed to HCC risk in the Xiamen population. The questionnaire database was built from 346 HCC cases and 961 healthy controls during 2007-2009. The serum levels of α-, β-, γ-, δ-HCH, 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl) ethane (p,p'-DDT), (1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl) ethylene (p,p'-DDE), 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis (o-chlorophenyl) ethane and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl) ethane were measured by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer, and statistical analysis was done using SPSS16. Significantly, we observed p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE, and at the first time β-HCH displayed quartile dose-dependent HCC risk trends; p,p'-DDT showed positive (i.e., synergistic) interactions with HBV, diabetes mellitus, AFB1 and polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure, but negative (i.e., antagonistic) interaction with heavy drinking; p,p'-DDE had positive interaction with PAH but negative interaction with HBV and p,p'-DDT; and β-HCH positively interacted with p,p'-DDT but negatively interacted with heavy drinking and diabetes. p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDE and β-HCH were independent HCC risk factors. Because of their synergistic interactions with other factors, the high-level exposure combined with common AFB1 and HBV exposure in the investigated area may greatly enhance the risk of HCC.