Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.
MicroRNA in hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis
Hepatic fibrosis is caused by an imbalance between production and dissolution of extracellular matrix after chronic and inflmmatory injury, when hepatic stellate cells are stimulated to proliferate and secret extracellular matrix. The most common causes of liver fibrosis are chronic viral hepatitis B and C. Cirrhosis is the most advanced stage of fibrosis, which usually develop into hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). microRNAs participate the pathogenesis of hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis or even the onset of HCC. In this review, we will summarize the role of miRNA in the pathogenesis of viral hepatitis fibrosis, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis fibrosis, primary biliary cirrhosis and HCC onset, especially in the regulation of stellate cells.