Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is one of the most common malignant tumors with a low survival rate.The identification of mechanisms underlying the development of HCC helps uncover cellular and mo-lecular targets for the diagnosis,prevention,and treatment of HCC.Golgi protein 73(GP73)level is up-regulated in HCC patients and potentially can be a therapeutic target.Despite many studies devoted to GP73 as a marker for HCC early diagnosis,there is little discussion about the function of GP73 in HCC tumorigenesis.Given the poor response to currently available HCC therapies,a better understanding of the role of GP73 in HCC may provide a new therapeutic target for HCC.The current paper summarizes the role of GP73 as a diagnostic marker as well as its roles in liver carcinogenesis.Its roles in other types of cancer are also discussed.

Many receptors can be activated by bile acids(BAs)and their derivatives.These include nuclear receptors farnesoid X receptor(FXR),pregnane X receptor(PXR),and vitamin D receptor(VDR),as well as membrane receptors Takeda G protein receptor 5(TGR5),sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 2(S1PR2),and cholinergic receptor muscarinic 2(CHRM2).All of them are implicated in the development of metabolic and immunological diseases in response to endobiotic and xenobiotic exposure.Because epigenetic regulation is critical for organisms to adapt to constant environmental changes,this review article summarizes epigenetic regulation as well as post-transcriptional modification of bile acid re-ceptors.In addition,the focus of this review is on the liver and digestive tract although these receptors may have effects on other organs.Those regulatory mechanisms are implicated in the disease process and critically important in uncovering innovative strategy for prevention and treatment of metabolic and immunological diseases.

Liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide,and the third most common cause of cancer-related death.Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),which accounts for more than 90％of primary liver cancers,is an important public health problem.In addition to cirrhosis caused by hepatitis B viral(HBV)or hepatitis C viral(HCV)infection,non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)is becoming a major risk factor for liver cancer because of the prevalence of obesity.Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH)will likely become the leading indication for liver transplantation in the future.It is well recognized that gut microbiota is a key environmental factor in the pathogenesis of liver disease and cancer.The interplay between gut microbiota and liver disease has been investigated in animal and clinical studies.In this article,we summarize the roles of gut microbiota in the development of liver disease as well as gut microbiota-targeted therapies.

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is a malignant tumor with a fairly poor prognosis(5-year survival of less than 50％).Using sorafenib,the only food and drug administration(FDA)-approved drug,HCC cannot be effectively treated;it can only be controlled at most for a couple of months.There is a great need to develop efficacious treatment against this debilitating disease.Glypican-3(GPC3),a member of the glypican family that attaches to the cell surface by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor,is overex-pressed in HCC cases and is elevated in the serum of a large proportion of patients with HCC.GPC3 expression contributes to HCC growth and metastasis.Furthermore,several different types of antibodies targeting GPC3 have been developed.The aim of this review is to summarize the current literatures on the GPC3 expression in human HCC,molecular mechanisms of GPC3 regulation and antibodies targeting GPC3.

Galectins(Gals)are evolutionarily conserved proteins that bind to β-galactoside containing glycans.Abnormal expression of Gals is associated with the development,progression,and metastasis of different types of cancer.Among the 11 Gals identified in humans,the roles of Gal-1 and Gal-3 have been extensively investigated in various tumors.Here,we summarize the roles of overly expressed Gal-1 and Gal-3 in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).The overexpression of Gal-1 and Gal-3 correlates with tumor growth,HCC cell migration and invasion,tumor aggressiveness,metastasis,and poor prognosis.A potentially promising future treatment strategy for HCC may include the combination of immunotherapy with Gal-1 inhibition.Additional research is warranted to investigate targeting Gal-1 and Gal-3 for HCC treatment.

The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)has been increasing for decades.This disease has now risen to become the sixth most common malignancy overall,while ranking as the third most frequent cause of cancer mortality.While several surgical interventions and loco-regional treatment options are available,up to 80％ of patients present with advanced disease not amenable to standard therapies.Indeed,traditional cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents are notoriously ineffective and essentially play no role in the management of affected patients.This has led to an enormous need for more effective sys-temic therapeutic options.In recent years,immunotherapy has emerged as a potentially viable and exciting new alternative for the treatment of HCC.Although the current immunotherapeutic options remain imperfect,various strategies can be employed to further improve their efficacy.New findings have revealed epigenetic modulation can be effective as a new approach for improving HCC immuno-therapy.Studying the gut microbiome(gut-liver axis)can also be an interesting subject in this regard.Here,we explore the latest insights into the role of immunotherapy treating HCC,both mono and in combination with other agents.We also focus on the impact of epigenetic drugs and the microbiome in the overall effectiveness of HCC immunotherapy.

With obesity rate consistently increasing,a strong relationship between obesity and fatty liver disease has been discovered.More than 90％of bariatric surgery patients also have non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases(NAFLDs).NAFLD and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH),which are the hepatic manifesta-tions of metabolic syndrome,can lead to liver carcinogenesis.Unfortunately,there is no effective medicine that can be used to treat NASH or liver cancer.Thus,it is critically important to understand the mechanism underlying the development of these diseases.Extensive evidence suggests that microRNA 22(miR-22)can be a diagnostic marker for liver diseases as well as a treatment target.This review paper focuses on the roles of miR-22 in metabolism,steatosis,and liver carcinogenesis.Literature search is limited based on the publications included in the PubMed database in the recent 10 years.

Background and aim:α-complex protein-2(αCP2)encoded by the poly(rC)binding protein 2(PCBP2)gene is responsible for the accumulation of type Ⅰ collagen in fibrotic livers.In this study,we silenced the PCBP2 gene using a small interfering RNA(siRNA)to reverse alcohol-and cytokine-induced profibrogenic effects on hepatic stellate cells(HSCs). Methods:Primary rat HSCs and the HSC-T6 cell line were used as fibrogenic models to mimic the initiation and perpetuation stages of fibrogenesis,respectively.We previously found that a PCBP2 siRNA,which efficiently silences expression of αCP2,reduces the stability of type Ⅰ collagen mRNA.We inves-tigated the effects of the PCBP2 siRNA on cell proliferation and migration.Expression of type Ⅰ collagen in HSCs was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting.In addition,we evaluated the effects of the PCBP2 siRNA on apoptosis and the cell cycle. Results:PCBP2 siRNA reversed multiple alcohol-and cytokine-induced profibrogenic effects on primary rat HSCs and HSC-T6 cells.The PCBP2 siRNA also reversed alcohol-and cytokine-induced accumulation of type Ⅰ collagen as well as cell proliferation and migration.Moreover,the combination of LY2109761,a transforming growth factor-β1 inhibitor,and the PCBP2 siRNA exerted a synergistic inhibitive effect on the accumulation of type Ⅰ collagen in HSCs. Conclusions:Silencing of PCBP2 using siRNA could be a potential therapeutic strategy for alcoholic liver fibrosis.

This study examines inhibiting galectin 1 (Gal1) as a treatment option for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Gal1 has immunosuppressive and cancer-promoting roles. Our data showed that Gal1 was highly expressed in human and mouse HCC. The levels of Gal1 positively correlated with the stages of human HCC and negatively with survival. The roles of Gal1 in HCC were studied using overexpression (OE) or silencing using Igals1 siRNA delivered by AAV9. Prior to HCC initiation induced by RAS and AKT mutations, lgals1-OE and silencing had opposite impacts on tumor load. The treatment effect of lgals1 siRNA was further demonstrated by intersecting HCC at different time points when the tumor load had already reached 9% or even 42% of the body weight. Comparing spatial transcriptomic profiles of Gal1 silenced and OE HCC, inhibiting matrix formation and recognition of foreign antigen in CD45⁺ cell-enriched areas located at tumor-margin likely contributed to the anti-HCC effects of Gal1 silencing. Within the tumors, silencing Gal1 inhibited translational initiation, elongation, and termination. Furthermore, Gal1 silencing increased immune cells as well as expanded cytotoxic T cells within the tumor, and the anti-HCC effect of lgals1 siRNA was CD8-dependent. Overall, Gal1 silencing has a promising potential for HCC treatment.