Liu Xiao Lin, Cao Hai Xia, Fan Jian Gao
Department of Gastroenterology and Center for Fatty Liver, XinHua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
J Dig Dis. 2016 Nov;17(11):708-715. doi: 10.1111/1751-2980.12408.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a complicated disease affected by the interaction of environmental and genetic factors; however, the precise pathogenesis of the disease has not been fully determined. There is a need to better understand the pathogenesis of NAFLD and to identify non-invasive diagnostic modalities. Recent advances in systematic biology and epigenetics have improved our understanding of the genotype-phenotype relationships in NAFLD. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of a wide range of biological processes. MiRNAs are extremely stable and protect from RNAase-mediated degradation in body fluids, making them attractive candidate biomarkers for the early detection of the disease and the monitoring of disease progression. In this review, we summarized the current knowledge on miRNAs as potential biomarkers of NAFLD at different stages and for the prognosis of advanced diseases. Furthermore, we discussed the implications of miRNAs that functioning in lipid metabolism and hepatic steatosis as well as in hepatic inflammation and fibrosis with regard to the pathogenesis of NAFLD.
非酒精性脂肪性肝病（NAFLD）是一种受环境和遗传因素相互作用影响的复杂疾病；然而，该疾病的确切发病机制尚未完全明确。有必要更好地了解NAFLD的发病机制并确定非侵入性诊断方法。系统生物学和表观遗传学的最新进展增进了我们对NAFLD中基因型-表型关系的理解。微小RNA（miRNA）是广泛生物过程的重要调节因子。miRNA极其稳定，可保护其免受体液中RNA酶介导的降解，使其成为疾病早期检测和疾病进展监测的有吸引力的候选生物标志物。在本综述中，我们总结了目前关于miRNA作为NAFLD不同阶段潜在生物标志物以及晚期疾病预后的知识。此外，我们讨论了在脂质代谢、肝脂肪变性以及肝炎症和纤维化中发挥作用的miRNA对NAFLD发病机制的影响。
