MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of small noncoding RNA molecules with significant capacity to regulate the gene expression at the post-transcriptional level in a sequence-specific manner either through translation repression or mRNA degradation triggering a fine-tuning biological impact. They have been implicated in several processes, including cell growth and development, signal transduction, cell proliferation and differentiation, metabolism, apoptosis, inflammation, and immune response modulation. However, over the last few years, extensive studies have shown the relevance of miRNAs in human pathophysiology. Common human parasitic diseases, such as Malaria, Leishmaniasis, Amoebiasis, Chagas disease, Schistosomiasis, Toxoplasmosis, Cryptosporidiosis, Clonorchiasis, and Echinococcosis are the leading cause of death worldwide. Thus, identifying and characterizing parasite-specific miRNAs and their host targets, as well as host-related miRNAs, are important for a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of parasite-specific diseases at the molecular level. In this review, we have demonstrated the impact of human microRNAs during host−parasite interaction as well as their potential to be used for diagnosis and prognosis purposes.

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are two main categories of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) that can influence essential biological functions in various ways, as well as their expression and function are tightly regulated in physiological homeostasis. Additionally, the dysregulation of these ncRNAs seems to be crucial to the pathogenesis of human diseases. The latest findings indicate that ncRNAs execute vital roles in cancer initiation and progression, and the cancer phenotype can be reversed by modulating their expression. Available scientific discoveries suggest that phytochemicals such as polyphenols, alkaloids, terpenoids, and organosulfur compounds can significantly modulate multiple cancer-associated miRNAs and lncRNAs, thereby inhibiting cancer initiation and development. However, despite promising outcomes of experimental research, only a few clinical trials are currently being conducted to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of these compounds. Nevertheless, understanding phytochemical-mediated ncRNA regulation in cancer and the underlying molecular mechanisms on tumor pathophysiology can aid in the development of novel therapeutic strategies to combat this deadly disease.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer. The molecular pathogenesis of HCC varies due to the different etiologies and genotoxic insults. The development of HCC is characterized by complex interactions between several etiological factors that result in genetic and epigenetic changes in proto-onco and/or tumor suppressor genes. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that also can act as oncomiRs or tumor suppressors regulating the expression of cancer-associated genes post-transcriptionally. Studies revealed that several microRNAs are directly or indirectly involved in cellular signaling, and dysregulation of those miRNAs in the body fluids or tissues potentially affects key signaling pathways resulting in carcinogenesis. Therefore, in this mini-review, we discussed recent progress in microRNA-mediated regulation of crucial signaling networks during HCC development, concentrating on the most relevant ones such as PI3K/Akt/mTOR, Hippo-YAP/TAZ, and Wnt/β-catenin, which might open new avenues in HCC management.