Niu Lian-Jie, Zhang Ya-Min, Huang Tao, Sun Xian-Fu, Luo Su-Xia
Department of Mammary Gland Department, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Ann Transl Med. 2021 Jan;9(2):137. doi: 10.21037/atm-20-7787.
Pathological examination of liver biopsies remains the gold standard for evaluating the stage of hepatic fibrosis, which are a number of disadvantages associated with biopsy. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential of exosomal microRNA (miR)-155 as a non-invasive biomarker for the diagnosis and progression of hepatic fibrosis.
Exosomal miR-155 quantity was analyzed by sampling serum exosomes of patients with hepatic fibrosis and a hepatic fibrosis rat model. A total of 94 patients were divided into three groups based on Child-Pugh rating. Additionally, 30 patients with primary liver fibrosis who underwent liver transplantation were divided into the low miR-155 expression group and the high expression group; 56 rats were divided into 7 groups (n=8, 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 weeks). Rats in every group were intravenously injected with CCl4 (3% vol/vol in olive oil; 0.3 mL/100 g body weight) twice weekly to produce different degrees of liver necrosis and liver fibrosis.
Exosomal miR-155 was found to be closely associated with the progression of cirrhosis and clinical prognostic indicators of cirrhosis. Exosomal miR-155 gradually increased with the severity of hepatic necrosis and fibrosis.
The findings of the present study indicate that exosomal miR-155 can act as a non-invasive biomarker for the diagnosis and progression of hepatic fibrosis.
肝活检的病理检查仍是评估肝纤维化阶段的金标准，但活检存在诸多缺点。本研究旨在探讨外泌体微小RNA（miR）-155作为肝纤维化诊断和病情进展的非侵入性生物标志物的潜力。
通过采集肝纤维化患者和肝纤维化大鼠模型的血清外泌体，分析外泌体miR-155的含量。94例患者根据Child-Pugh分级分为三组。此外，30例行肝移植的原发性肝纤维化患者分为miR-155低表达组和高表达组；56只大鼠分为7组（n = 8、0、2、4、6、8、10和12周）。每组大鼠每周两次静脉注射四氯化碳（3%体积/体积溶于橄榄油；0.3 mL/100 g体重），以产生不同程度的肝坏死和肝纤维化。
发现外泌体miR-155与肝硬化进展及肝硬化临床预后指标密切相关。外泌体miR-155随肝坏死和纤维化严重程度逐渐升高。
本研究结果表明，外泌体miR-155可作为肝纤维化诊断和病情进展的非侵入性生物标志物。
