Hou Ji-Ping, Yang Lian-Ying, Liu Li-Bin, Han En-Kun, Han Chun-Qi, Yang Li-Ping
Department of General Surgery, Tianjin Medical University Baodi Hospital, China.
Department of Medical Imaging, Tianjin Medical University Baodi Hospital, China.
Arab J Gastroenterol. 2025 Feb;26(1):71-77. doi: 10.1016/j.ajg.2024.11.003. Epub 2025 Jan 6.
This study was aimed to validate the correlation of circular RNA HIPK3 (CircHIPK3) expression in serum and tissues with the progression of liver fibrosis (LF) and liver cirrhosis (LC).
Serum CircHIPK3 expressions were detected in 120 patients with LF/LC and 120 healthy controls (HCs). CircHIPK3 expression in tissues was detected in 120 fibrotic liver tissues and compared to 57 healthy liver tissues from patients with hepatic hemangioma. The expressions of CircHIPK3, TGF-β1, and CollA1 mRNAs were assessed by qRT-PCR. The Child-Pugh (CP) classification was used to evaluate disease severity. The Ishak score was applied to assess LF/LC in liver biopsy samples. The levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were also investigated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was conducted to assess the diagnostic value of CircHIPK3 expressions in serum and tissues.
CircHIPK3 expressions in serum and tissues were upregulated in patients with LF/LC compared to HCs. The patient group comprised 39 with CP class A (CP-A), 45 with CP class B (CP-B), and 36 with CP class B (CP-C). Patients with CP-C had markedly increased serum and local CircHIPK3 levels compared to those with CP-B and CP-A. Patients with CP-B showed upregulated CircHIPK3 expressions in serum and tissues compared to CP-A with statistical significance. ROC curve analysis indicated that CircHIPK3 expressions in both serum and tissues may serve as potential diagnostic indicators for the progression of LF/LC. Moreover, serum CircHIPK3 expressions were positively associated with serum ALT and AST levels. Tissue CircHIPK3 expressions were positively correlated with tissue TGF-β1 and CollA1 mRNA expressions. In addition, both serum and tissue CircHIPK3 expressions were positively associated with the Ishak score.
For the first time, this study demonstrated the positive correlation of CircHIPK3 expressions in both serum and tissues with the progression of LF/LC, regardless of etiology. CircHIPK3 might play a significant role in the development of LF/LC and act as a potential therapeutic target for these conditions.
本研究旨在验证血清和组织中环状RNA HIPK3（CircHIPK3）表达与肝纤维化（LF）和肝硬化（LC）进展的相关性。
检测120例LF/LC患者和120例健康对照者（HCs）血清中的CircHIPK3表达。检测120例纤维化肝组织中CircHIPK3的组织表达，并与57例肝血管瘤患者的健康肝组织进行比较。通过qRT-PCR评估CircHIPK3、转化生长因子-β1（TGF-β1）和I型胶原蛋白（CollA1）mRNA的表达。采用Child-Pugh（CP）分级评估疾病严重程度。应用Ishak评分评估肝活检样本中的LF/LC。还研究了血清丙氨酸氨基转移酶（ALT）和天冬氨酸氨基转移酶（AST）水平。进行受试者工作特征（ROC）分析以评估血清和组织中CircHIPK3表达的诊断价值。
与HCs相比，LF/LC患者血清和组织中的CircHIPK3表达上调。患者组包括39例CP A级（CP-A）、45例CP B级（CP-B）和36例CP C级（CP-C）。与CP-B和CP-A患者相比，CP-C患者血清和局部CircHIPK3水平显著升高。与CP-A患者相比，CP-B患者血清和组织中的CircHIPK3表达上调，差异具有统计学意义。ROC曲线分析表明，血清和组织中的CircHIPK3表达均可作为LF/LC进展的潜在诊断指标。此外，血清CircHIPK3表达与血清ALT和AST水平呈正相关。组织CircHIPK3表达与组织TGF-β1和CollA1 mRNA表达呈正相关。此外，血清和组织中的CircHIPK3表达均与Ishak评分呈正相关。
本研究首次证明，无论病因如何，血清和组织中的CircHIPK3表达均与LF/LC进展呈正相关。CircHIPK3可能在LF/LC的发生发展中起重要作用，并可作为这些疾病的潜在治疗靶点。
