MALAT1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: To date, experimental data from previous reports has demonstrated that lncRNAs are involved in multiple signalling pathways, including hedgehog (Hh) [23], notch [24], p53 [25], and transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-β1)/mothers against decapentaplegic protein 3 (smad3) [26], and that they can inhibit or promote liver fibrosis by suppressing or activating HSCs; these lncRNAs include hepatocellular carcinoma upregulated lncRNA (HULC) [27], metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) [20], Hotair [22], HOXA distal transcript antisense RNA (HOTTIP) [28], and MEG3 [29].