Open Access

Circulating microRNA‑135a‑3p in serum extracellular vesicles as a potential biological marker of non‑alcoholic fatty liver disease

  • Authors:
    • Hemin Jiang
    • Yu Qian
    • Ziyang Shen
    • Yuwei Liu
    • Yunqiang He
    • Rui Gao
    • Min Shen
    • Shu Chen
    • Qi Fu
    • Tao Yang
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: May 6, 2021     https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2021.12137
  • Article Number: 498
  • Copyright: © Jiang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Non‑alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a widespread threat to human health. However, the present screening methods for NAFLD are time‑consuming or invasive. The present study aimed to assess the potential of microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) in serum extracellular vesicles (EVs) as a biomarker of NAFLD. C57BL/6J mice were fed either a 12‑week high‑fat diet (HFD) or standard chow to establish NAFLD and control groups, respectively. Serum samples were obtained from the mouse model of NAFLD, as well as 50 patients with NAFLD and 50 healthy individuals, and EVs were extracted and verified. Using reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR, the mRNA expression level of selected miRNAs in the serum and EVs was analyzed. In order to determine the diagnostic value, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used. The mice treated with HFD showed notable hepatic steatosis and higher concentrations of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT). There was also a significant decrease in the expression levels of miR‑135a‑3p, miR‑129b‑5p and miR‑504‑3p, and an increase in miR‑122‑5p expression levels in circulating EVs in mice treated with HFD and patients with NAFLD. There were also similar miR‑135a‑3p and miR‑122‑5p expression patterns in the serum. ROC analysis demonstrated that miR‑135a‑3p in circulating EVs was highly accurate in diagnosing NAFLD, with the area under the curve value being 0.849 (95% CI, 0.777‑0.921; P<0.0001). Bioinformatics analysis indicated that dysregulated miR‑135a‑3p was associated with ‘platelet‑derived growth factor receptor signaling pathway’ and ‘AMP‑activated protein kinase signaling pathway’. In summary, circulating miR‑135a‑3p in EVs may serve as a potential non‑invasive biomarker to diagnose NAFLD. This miRNA was a more sensitive and specific biological marker for NAFLD compared with ALT.
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July-2021
Volume 24 Issue 1

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Copy and paste a formatted citation
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Spandidos Publications style
Jiang H, Qian Y, Shen Z, Liu Y, He Y, Gao R, Shen M, Chen S, Fu Q, Yang T, Yang T, et al: Circulating microRNA‑135a‑3p in serum extracellular vesicles as a potential biological marker of non‑alcoholic fatty liver disease. Mol Med Rep 24: 498, 2021
APA
Jiang, H., Qian, Y., Shen, Z., Liu, Y., He, Y., Gao, R. ... Yang, T. (2021). Circulating microRNA‑135a‑3p in serum extracellular vesicles as a potential biological marker of non‑alcoholic fatty liver disease. Molecular Medicine Reports, 24, 498. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2021.12137
MLA
Jiang, H., Qian, Y., Shen, Z., Liu, Y., He, Y., Gao, R., Shen, M., Chen, S., Fu, Q., Yang, T."Circulating microRNA‑135a‑3p in serum extracellular vesicles as a potential biological marker of non‑alcoholic fatty liver disease". Molecular Medicine Reports 24.1 (2021): 498.
Chicago
Jiang, H., Qian, Y., Shen, Z., Liu, Y., He, Y., Gao, R., Shen, M., Chen, S., Fu, Q., Yang, T."Circulating microRNA‑135a‑3p in serum extracellular vesicles as a potential biological marker of non‑alcoholic fatty liver disease". Molecular Medicine Reports 24, no. 1 (2021): 498. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2021.12137