Specific patterns of PIWI-interacting small noncoding RNA expression in dysplastic liver nodules and hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC) is the result of a stepwise process, often beginning with development within a cirrhotic liver of premalignant lesions, morphologically characterized by low-( LGDN) and high-grade ( HGDN) dysplastic nodules. PIWI-interacting RNAs ( piRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs ( sncRNAs), 23-35 nucleotide-long, exerting epigenetic and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. Recently the PIWI-piRNA pathway, best characterized in germline cells, has been identified also in somatic tissues, including stem and cancer cells, where it influences key cellular processes.