Shah Nihar, Nelson James E, Kowdley Kris V
Liver Center of Excellence, Digestive Disease Institute, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, WA, United States.
Benaroya Research Institute, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, WA, United States.
J Clin Exp Hepatol. 2013 Sep;3(3):231-42. doi: 10.1016/j.jceh.2013.09.001. Epub 2013 Sep 17.
MicroRNAs (miRs) are small non-coding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression by pairing with partially complementary target sequences in the 3'UTRs of mRNAs to promote degradation and/or block translation. Aberrant miR expression is associated with development of multiple diseases including hepatic diseases. The role of miRs in the regulation of gene expression and rapid progress in the field of microRNA research are resulting in momentum toward development of diagnostic markers and novel therapeutic strategies for human liver diseases. Recent studies provide clear evidence that miRs are abundant in the liver and modulate a diverse spectrum of biological functions, thereby supporting an association between alterations of miR homeostasis and pathological liver diseases. Here we review the role of miRs in liver as their physiological and pathological importance has been demonstrated in metabolism, immunity, viral hepatitis, oncogenesis, fatty liver diseases (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), drug-induced liver injury, fibrosis as well as acute liver failure.
微小RNA（miR）是一类小的非编码RNA，通过与mRNA的3'非翻译区（3'UTR）中部分互补的靶序列配对，负向调节基因表达，从而促进降解和/或阻断翻译。miR表达异常与包括肝脏疾病在内的多种疾病的发生发展相关。miR在基因表达调控中的作用以及微小RNA研究领域的快速进展，推动了人类肝脏疾病诊断标志物和新型治疗策略的开发。最近的研究提供了明确的证据，表明miR在肝脏中含量丰富，并调节多种生物学功能，从而支持miR稳态改变与病理性肝脏疾病之间的关联。在此，我们综述miR在肝脏中的作用，因为其在代谢、免疫、病毒性肝炎、肿瘤发生、脂肪性肝病（酒精性和非酒精性）、药物性肝损伤、纤维化以及急性肝衰竭等方面的生理和病理重要性已得到证实。
