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Circulating microRNAs as predictive biomarkers for liver disease progression of chronic hepatitis C (genotype‐4) Egyptian patients
Author(s) -
ElHefny Mohamed,
Fouad Shawky,
Hussein Tarek,
AbdelHameed Rehab,
Effat Heba,
Mohamed Haitham,
Abdel Wahab Abdel Hady
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.25294
Subject(s) - biomarker , microrna , medicine , liver disease , pathogenesis , genotype , hepatitis c virus , receiver operating characteristic , real time polymerase chain reaction , downregulation and upregulation , disease , immunology , fibrosis , hepatitis c , steatosis , virus , biology , gene , genetics
Egypt is one of the highest prevalence rates of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection worldwide. HCV is among major reasons for chronic liver diseases. MicroRNA (miRNAs), small noncoding regulatory molecules play a key role in the pathogenesis of liver. Circulating miRNAs represent potential noninvasive biomarkers for diagnosis and monitoring patients with liver diseases progression. To investigate the potential role of circulating miRNAs for surveillance of liver disease progression, we assessed the expression of 20 liver‐related miRNAs in sera of 47 chronic hepatitis C Egyptian patients compared with 25 controls using quantitative reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction assay. The sensitivity and specificity were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The correlations between their levels and the clinicopathological features were assessed. Fourteen miRNAs showed upregulation and six miRNAs showed downregulation. ROC curve analyses revealed that the explored miRNAs could serve as valuable biomarkers for chronic hepatitis with an area under the curve ranged from 0.708 (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.587 to 0.829; P = 0.004) for miR‐199 up to 0.974 (95% CI, 0.943 to 1.00; P < 0.001) for miR‐23b. The expression level of miR‐21 demonstrated significant correlation with age, liver enzymes, ALT/AST, and α‐fetoprotein level. AST level was directly correlated with miR‐122, while an inversely correlated with miR‐23b. Fibrosis and steatosis stages possessed positive correlation with miR‐199 expression and negative correlation with miR‐27a and miR‐93. In conclusion, miR‐23b and miR‐106 might be a useful biomarker for chronic hepatitis C (CHC). MiR‐27a, miR‐93, and miR‐199 might have a potential role in the progression of liver diseases. Unravel the role of these miRNAs in CHC patients might lead to precise prognosis and management.