Eman El-Ahwany
Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, Egypt
Title: Circulating microRNAs as non-invasive biomarkers for the detection of different stages of liver fibrosis in Egyptian HCV patients
Biography
Biography: Eman El-Ahwany
Abstract
Background: In liver fibrosis, miRNAs play an essential role in activating HSCs proliferation, differentiation and migration. To study regulation of genes at the miRNA level is a huge advantage as gene expression, is regulated at an epigenetic level before even proteins get formed. Aim: The aim of the study is to develop a non-invasive diagnostic tool based on measuring the serum levels of different miRNAs in order to detect HCV-induced liver fibrosis at the early stages of the disease. Patients & Methods: Subjects of the current study included 66 cases of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) with early stage of fibrosis, 65 cases of CHC with stage 4 of fibrosis admitted to department of hepato-gastroenterology, TBRI. 35 subjects were included as normal controls. Five main miRNAs (miR-214, miR-221/222, miR-9, miR-125b and miR-128) were measured using real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Results: Circulating levels of miR-214, miR-221/222, miR-9, miR-125b and miR-128 were significantly increased (P<0.01) in cases of both CHC with early stage of fibrosis and CHC with stage 4 compared to control group. Also, there was a significant increase (p<0.01) in CHC with stage 4 of fibrosis group versus CHC with early fibrosis group. Conclusions: Our data suggest that circulating miRNAs could serve as novel biomarkers for the detection and assessment of liver fibrosis.