Erschienen in:
13.04.2016 | Original Article
Impact of circulating miR-122 for histological features and hepatocellular carcinoma of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in Japan
verfasst von:
Norio Akuta, Yusuke Kawamura, Fumitaka Suzuki, Satoshi Saitoh, Yasuji Arase, Hideo Kunimoto, Yushi Sorin, Shunichiro Fujiyama, Hitomi Sezaki, Tetsuya Hosaka, Masahiro Kobayashi, Yoshiyuki Suzuki, Mariko Kobayashi, Kenji Ikeda, Hiromitsu Kumada
Erschienen in:
Hepatology International
|
Ausgabe 4/2016
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Abstract
Background and aim
Relationships between circulating microRNA-122 (miR-122) and histological features of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are unclear.
Methods
The impact of serum miR-122 levels for histological features and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was investigated in 305 Japanese patients with histological proven NAFLD. Twenty-three patients were with HCC at the time of diagnosis of NAFLD, and four patients developed HCC during the follow-up. The cross-sectional or longitudinal evaluations were performed to investigate the impact for HCC.
Results
Serum miR-122 levels (calibrated relative to the median levels of patients) partly affected severity of steatosis, ballooning, lobular inflammation, and stage. Multivariate analysis identified HCC and/or histological components of NASH as morphological factors that independently influenced serum miR-122 levels at the diagnosis of NAFLD. There was a strong correlation between serum miR-122 levels and AST, ALT levels. In cross-sectional evaluation, serum miR-122 levels of patients without HCC were significantly higher than those with HCC in patients of stage 3 but not stage 4. In longitudinal evaluation of one patient with follow-up time of 25 years, from the diagnosis of NAFLD until HCC, serum miR-122 levels had already tended to decrease before the progression of fibrosis stage.
Conclusions
HCC and/or histological components of NASH affected serum miR-122 levels, independently. In longitudinal evaluation of HCC patients, serum miR-122 levels had already tended to decrease before the progression of fibrosis stage. Further prospective studies are needed to investigate the impact of serum miR-122 for histological features and hepatocarcinogenesis of NAFLD.