en تخصصي Special پژوهشي Original article <div style="border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left:none; border-right:none; padding:1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Background and Aims: </span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="color:#131413">The main role of ncRNAs (non-coding RNAs) is to regulate various cellular activities. LncRNAs (long non-coding RNAs) are a group of ncRNAs that are over 200 base pairs in length. It has been shown that lncRNAs regulate and control various cellular functions. Disruption of the expression of lncRNAs can cause various disease and deficiency in the cell function. LncRNA-HULK is one of lncRNA, which is greatly increased in liver disorders, including hepatitis C. Recently, the use of HULK as a biomarker has been suggested as a prognostic factor for liver disease such as hepatocellular carcinoma. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the level of lncRNA-Hulk in chronic HCV-infected patients</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt">.</span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Materials and Methods: </span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">The present study included 50 patients with chronic hepatitis C. After transferring the samples, total RNA was extracted and the quantity of HCV-RNA and lncRNA-HULK were determined using the real-time PCR assay. Finally, the relationship between HCV-RNA and lncRNA-HULK levels was evaluated.</span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Results:</span></b> <span lang="EN" style="font-size:11.0pt">Of the total patients, 13 were female and 37 were male.</span> <span lang="EN" style="font-size:11.0pt">All patients were HIV Ag/Ab and HBs Ag negative. Results showed that HCV-RNA level was 4,500-2,300,000 copies per mL of plasma. In addition, threshold cycles of lncRNA-HULK were calculated 28-38. Statistical analyses showed that there was a significant relationship between HCV-RNA level and lncRNA-HULK in the plasma of chronic patients</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt">.</span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Conclusion: </span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11.0pt">In the recent study, the relationship between HCV-RNA quantity and lncRNA-HULC level in chronic hepatitis C patients was investigated. It is suggested that lncRNA-HULC levels could be considered as a biomarker in such patients. Accordingly, lncRNA-HULC quantification could be utilized to predict the progression of liver disease and the outcome in chronic HCV-infected patients</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt">.</span></span></span></span></div> <span dir="RTL"></span> non-coding RNA, lncRNA, HULC, HCV, chronic 16 21 http://journal.isv.org.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-234-3&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Reihaneh Kazemi re.kazemi71@gmail.com 10031947532846006560 10031947532846006560 No Hepatitis and AIDS Department, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran. ‪Mohammad Reza Aghasadeghi mr_sadeqi@yahoo.com 10031947532846006561 10031947532846006561 No Hepatitis & AIDS department, Pasteur institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran. Viral Vaccine Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran. Aras Rafiee aras_marine_biology@yahoo.com 10031947532846006562 10031947532846006562 No Department of biology, Central Tehran branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. fatemeh motevalli fatememotevalli@gmail.com 10031947532846006563 10031947532846006563 No Hepatitis & AIDS department, Pasteur institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran. Mojtaba Hamidi-Fard mojtaba_hamidifard@yahoo.com 10031947532846006564 10031947532846006564 Yes Hepatitis & AIDS department, Pasteur institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran. Viral Vaccine Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.