Upregulated lncRNA HCG18 in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Its Regulatory Effect on Insulin Resistance.

PURPOSE

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a disease associated with genetic-environmental-metabolic stress, which severely damages the liver function of patients. This study aimed to explore the significance and probable functions of HCG18 in NAFLD.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The expression of HCG18 and miR-197-3p was tested by qRT-PCR. The clinical signification of HCG18 was provided by the ROC curve and Pearson correlation. The corresponding mechanism was punctuated by the luciferase reporter assay and HFD-managed mice.

RESULTS

HCG18 expression was higher in the patients with NAFLD than in controls and in individuals with HOMA-IR score ≥2.5 than those with HOMA-IR score <2.5. HCG18 expression in NAFLD patients was related to BMI, HOMA-IR, ALT, FBG, TC, and TG. HCG18 showed satisfactory predictive accuracy in differentiating NAFLD patients and patients with HOMA-IR ≥2.5. Besides, HCG18 had protective impacts on blood glucose and fat deposition but not on body weight. MiR-197-3p is a direct gene of HCG18, and a reverse correlation was found between miR-197-3p and HCG18. Furthermore, miR-197-3p regulated the influence of HCG18 on insulin resistance and lipid accumulation.

CONCLUSION

Increased levels of HCG18 might be an alternate indicator for NAFLD patients. The HCG18-miR-197-3p axis exerted effects on the progression of fat sedimentation and glucose disorder in NAFLD.