Hormonal
Circulating levels of miR-122 are significantly elevated in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) compared to healthy controls and those with simple steatosis, serving as a biomarker for disease severity.
For individuals with fatty liver, elevated circulating miR-122 levels may indicate a progression to more serious liver inflammation (NASH). While not yet a standard clinical tool, this biomarker shows promise as a non-invasive alternative or complement to liver enzymes for assessing disease severity, potentially reducing the need for invasive biopsies in some cases.
The most dramatic and significant fold changes were observed in the serum levels of miR-122 (7.2-fold change in NASH vs controls and 3.1-fold change in NASH vs SS)
Why this rating
The study uses a robust case-control design with discovery and validation phases, biopsy-proven diagnoses, and independent replication.
Source
Circulating microRNA signature in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: from serum non-coding RNAs to liver histology and disease pathogenesis
Carlos J. Pirola et al. · Gut · 2014
DOI 10.1136/gutjnl-2014-306996
More from this paper
- Circulating miR-19a/b and miR-125b are associated with features of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease risk, including biomarkers of atherosclerosis.Good
- Liver expression of miR-122 is downregulated in NASH compared to simple steatosis, despite being upregulated in the serum, suggesting a release mechanism from lipid-laden hepatocytes.Good
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