TITLE:
The Role of Circulating MicroRNAs as Markers of Disease Progression in Hepatitis C Virus Infected Egyptian Patients
AUTHORS:
Reem Abdel Hamid Harfoush, Marwa Ahmed Meheissen, Reham Abel Haleem Abo Elwafa, Doaa Ahmed Elwazzan
KEYWORDS:
MicroRNA, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Hepatitis C Virus
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Microbiology,
Vol.6 No.4,
April
20,
2016
ABSTRACT: Background: The discovery of miRNAs circulating in the peripheral blood has opened new directions
of research to identify new non-invasive markers for diagnosis of diseases. Aim: The aim of the study
was to evaluate the expression levels of circulating plasma miRNAs (miRNA-21 & miRNA-122) in
Egyptian patients with chronic uncomplicated and complicated HCV. Patients & Methods: This study
was conducted on 60 Chronic HCV infected patients. Patients were divided into three groups (20 patients
each): uncomplicated HCV, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). All patients were
subjected to laboratory investigations including complete blood picture, liver function tests. Expression
levels of miRNA-21 and -122 in plasma using RT-PCR were determined. Results: MiRNA-21 showed significant fold increase in chronic uncomplicated HCV while significant fold decrease
in cirrhotic and HCC groups (P = 0.036). On the other hand, miRNA-122 showed significant fold elevation
in both chronic uncomplicated and cirrhotic groups and significant fold decrease in HCC
group (P = 0.005). ROC curve analysis for miRNA-122 yielded 68.4% sensitivity and 100% specificity
for the differentiation of HCC patients from non-HCC at a cutoff 0.184. Neither miRNA-21 nor miRNA-122 was a successful predictor for HCC diagnosis. Conclusion: MiRNA-122 can be used as novel
non-invasive biomarker for monitoring HCV related disease progression.