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Twist in hepatocellular carcinoma: pathophysiology and therapeutics

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Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related disease worldwide. Although HCC is mainly associated with viral hepatitis and alcoholic cirrhosis, numerous physiological and biochemical events are associated with HCC progression. The transcription factor Twist, which plays a key role in epithelial to mesenchymal transition, is reported to be associated with HCC. Overexpression of Twist causes various biochemical changes, such as increase of cell proliferation, reduction of apoptosis, cell cycle deregulation, generation of hepatic cancer stem cells, and in some cases, drug resistance. These changes result in various physiological changes, such as angiogenesis, cellular migration and invasion, and vasculogenic mimicry, which ultimately causes hepatocellular metastasis. Interestingly, targeting Twist via different strategies, especially small RNA technology, has shown promising therapeutic potential for future HCC treatment.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 31400311) and the Construct Program of the Key Discipline of Basic Medicine in Hunan Province.

Compliance with ethical requirements and Conflict of interest

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects. Hui Zou, Xing Feng, and Jian-Guo Cao declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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  1. Medical College Affiliated to Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China

    Hui Zou, Xing Feng & Jian-Guo Cao

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  1. Hui Zou
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Correspondence to Hui Zou.

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Zou, H., Feng, X. & Cao, JG. Twist in hepatocellular carcinoma: pathophysiology and therapeutics. Hepatol Int 9, 399–405 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12072-015-9634-0

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