. 2023 Jan 19;11(3):682–694. doi: 10.14218/JCTH.2022.00412

Table 1. ncRNAs involved in the regulation of innate immune cells.

NcRNA	Expression in HCC	Related immune cell	Target molecules/pathways	Function in TIME	Impact on HCC	Reference
miR-28-5p	Downregulated	TAMs	IL-34/FAK/ERK1/2	Promote TAM recruitment and infiltration into HCC tissue	Promote angiogenesis, tumor growth, and metastasis	12
circASAP1	Upregulated	TAMs	miR-326/miR-532-5p/CSF-1	Promote TAM infiltration	Promote HCC growth and metastasis	13
hsa_circ_0110102	Downregulated	TAMs	miR-580-5p/PPARα/CCL2	Inhibit macrophage activation and infiltration	Inhibit HCC growth and metastasis	14
lncRNA LINC00662	Upregulated	TAMs	miR-15a/16/107/WNT3A/Wnt/β-catenin	Promote M2 macrophage polarization	Promote tumor growth and metastasis	15
lncRNA PART1	Upregulated	TAMs	miR-372-3p/TLR4 axis	Promote M2 macrophage polarization	Promote HCC cell proliferation, EMT, and metastasis	16
lncRNA TUC339	Upregulated	TAMs	NA	Promote macrophage activation, M2 polarization, and pro-tumorigenic activity	Promote HCC progression	17
hsa_circ_0003410	Upregulated	TAMs	miR-139-3p/CCL5	Recruit and polarize M2 macrophages	Promotes HCC tumor growth and metastasis	18
miR-223	Downregulated	Neutrophils	NA	Attenuate neutrophil maturation and activation	Inhibit HCC progression	19
miR-122	Downregulated	Neutrophils	CCL2	Inhibit recruitment of neutrophils	Inhibit tumor progression	20
miR-561-5p	Upregulated	NKs	CX₃CL1/ CX₃CR1⁺/STAT3	Inhibit CX₃CR1⁺ NK-cell infiltration and activation	Promote pulmonary metastasis	22
circRNA UHRF1	Upregulated	NKs	miR-449c-5p/TIM-3	Induce NK-cell exhaustion and promote NK-cell dysfunction	Promote immune evasion and resistance to anti-PD1 therapy	23
lncRNA GAS5	Downregulated	NKs	miR-544/RUNX3	Enhance the killing effect of NK cells	Inhibit immune evasion and tumor progression	24
circRNA hsa_circ_0007456	Downregulated	NKs	miR-6852-3p/ICAM-1	Strengthen the cytotoxicity of NK cells	Inhibit immune evasion and inhibit tumor growth	25
circRNA ARSP91	Downregulated	NKs	ULBP1	Strengthen the cytotoxicity of NK cells	Enhance innate immune surveillance, suppress HCC proliferation	26
lncRNA HOTAIR	Upregulated	MDSCs	CCL2	Promote recruitment of MDSCs	Promote tumor growth and metastasis	21

HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; MDSCs, myeloid-derived suppressor cells; NA, not available; ncRNAs, noncoding RNAs; NKs, natural killer cells; TAMs, tumor-associated macrophages; TIME, tumor immune microenvironment.