Research on the Mechanism of the lncRNA DLX6-AS1/miR-26a/PTEN Axis in Regulating the Activation of Hepatic Stellate Cells in Post-hepatitis Liver Fibrosis: An Analysis Based on Systematic Validation and Clinical Translation Methods

Yan Wang, Chao Gao, Dongqin Fei, Fang Zhang, Qi Zhang

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¹ People’s Hospital of Liuhe District, Nanjing, Affiliated to Medical College of Yangzhou University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211500, China,

JCNR 2025 , 9(11), 363–371; https://doi.org/10.26689/jcnr.v9i11.12981

© 2025 by the Authors. Licensee Whioce Publishing, Singapore. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )

Abstract

Objective: To elucidate the role and clinical potential of the lncRNA DLX6-AS1/miR-26a/PTEN axis in liver fibrosis. Methods: Systematic studies were conducted using cellular and animal models through causal validation, bivariate experiments, single-cell sequencing, ROC analysis of clinical samples, and humanized mouse models. Results: LncRNA DLX6-AS1 inhibited PTEN by adsorbing miR-26a, promoting hepatic stellate cell activation in a dose/time-dependent manner; the axis demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance (AUC > 0.9), and its inhibitors effectively reversed fibrosis in vivo. Conclusion: This study provides new biomarkers and targeted therapeutic strategies for liver fibrosis.

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