Analyses of liver-specific miRNA function and the development of the strategy about the efficient induction of differentiation into hepatocytes

肝脏特异性miR122在肝细胞癌中经常下调。MiR122基因敲除可诱导AFP表达，提示肝细胞去分化。MiR122的表达降低导致转录因子CUX1的表达增加，这与肝癌的侵袭性有关。从这些结果来看，miR122的降低导致了AFP的表达和肝癌的侵袭性，这是对AFP高表达的肝癌临床预后不良的分子解释。

Liver specific miR122 is frequently downregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Knockdown of miR122 induces AFP expression, indicating the de-differentiation of hepatocytes. Decreased miR122 expression leads to the increased expression of CUX1, a transcriptional factor, which is related with the aggressiveness of HCC. From these results, decreased miR122 results in the AFP expression and aggressiveness of HCC, which is a molecular explanation about the clinical poor prognosis of HCCs with high AFP expression.