Abstract
The unique ability of the adult liver to regenerate after injury is the basis for
efficient surgical resection and liver transplantation and provides solutions for
the treatment of liver cancer and acute liver failure. Current success in surgical
treatments could be enhanced by directed regulation of liver regeneration. A number
of small molecules and growth factors have been tested in mice models to improve liver
regeneration. Noncoding ribonucleic acids (ncRNA) are less studied regulators of various
cellular processes. Here, the authors carefully review ncRNA involved in liver regeneration
and discuss molecular mechanisms and regulatory networks. These ncRNAs modulate the
expression of pro- and antiproliferative genes allowing to orchestrate precisely the
proliferation of hepatocytes. The authors expect that ncRNA will become new targets
in liver regeneration due to recent progress in therapeutic nucleic acids. Among a
large number of preclinical studies on ncRNA, only a few entered clinical trials,
and further studies are needed to uncover their potential as therapeutic targets.
Keywords
noncoding RNA - liver regeneration - miRNA - lncRNA - therapeutic nucleic acids
