Open Access

Circulating microRNA-196a as a candidate diagnostic biomarker for chronic hepatitis C

  • Authors:
    • Bo Liu
    • Ying Xiang
    • Heng‑Shu Zhang
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: February 24, 2015     https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2015.3386
  • Pages: 105-110
  • Copyright: © Liu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License [CC BY_NC 3.0].

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Abstract

Previous studies have demonstrated the inhibitory effect of microRNA (miR)‑196a on hepatitis C virus (HCV) expression in human hepatocytes. However, the clinical implications of aberrant miR‑196a expression and the application of circulating miR‑196a in the diagnosis and management of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) require further investigation. The present study aimed to examine the possibility of using serum miR‑196a as a biomarker for CHC. The Affymetrix miRNA array platform was used for miRNA expression profiling in adenovirus (Ad)‑HCV core‑infected (HepG2‑HCV) and Ad‑enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP)‑infected HepG2 cells (HepG2‑control). miR‑196a downregulation and levels were analyzed using stem‑loop reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‑qPCR) analysis of the sera of 43 patients with CHC and 22 healthy controls. A total of six miRNAs were identified as significantly different (≥1.5 fold; P≤0.05) between the two groups. Of note, significant miR‑196a downregulation was observed in HepG2‑HCV as compared with HepG2‑EGFP. Furthermore, as compared with that of the healthy control group, serum miR‑196a was demonstrated to be significantly lower in patients with CHC. In addition, analysis of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for serum miR‑196a revealed an area under the ROC curve of 0.849 (95% confidence interval, 0.756‑0.941; P<0.001) with 81.8% sensitivity and 76.7% specificity in discriminating chronic HCV infection from healthy controls at a cut‑off value of 6.115x10‑5, demonstrating significant diagnostic value for CHC. However, no correlation was identified between serum miR‑196a and alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase or HCV‑RNA. In conclusion, the present study identified circulating miR‑196a as a specific and noninvasive candidate biomarker for the diagnosis of CHC.
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July-2015
Volume 12 Issue 1

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Spandidos Publications style
Liu B, Xiang Y and Zhang HS: Circulating microRNA-196a as a candidate diagnostic biomarker for chronic hepatitis C. Mol Med Rep 12: 105-110, 2015.
APA
Liu, B., Xiang, Y., & Zhang, H. (2015). Circulating microRNA-196a as a candidate diagnostic biomarker for chronic hepatitis C. Molecular Medicine Reports, 12, 105-110. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2015.3386
MLA
Liu, B., Xiang, Y., Zhang, H."Circulating microRNA-196a as a candidate diagnostic biomarker for chronic hepatitis C". Molecular Medicine Reports 12.1 (2015): 105-110.
Chicago
Liu, B., Xiang, Y., Zhang, H."Circulating microRNA-196a as a candidate diagnostic biomarker for chronic hepatitis C". Molecular Medicine Reports 12, no. 1 (2015): 105-110. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2015.3386