title: A panel of serum microRNAs as specific biomarkers for diagnosis of compound- and herb-induced liver injury in rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) has been a public, economic and pharmaceutical issue for many years. Enormous effort has been made for discovering and developing novel biomarkers for diagnosing and monitoring both clinical and preclinical DILI at an early stage, though progress has been relatively slow. Additionally, herb-induced liver injury is an emerging cause of liver disease because herbal medicines are increasingly being used worldwide. Recently, circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have shown potential to serve as novel, minimally invasive biomarkers to diagnose and monitor human cancers and other diseases at early stages.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In order to identify candidate miRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers for DILI, miRNA expression profiles of serum and liver tissue from two parallel liver injury Sprague-Dawley rat models induced by a compound (acetaminophen, APAP) or an herb (Dioscorea bulbifera, DB) were screened in this study. The initial screens were performed on serum using a MicroRNA TaqMan low-density qPCR array and on liver tissue using a miRCURY LNA hybridization array and were followed by a TaqMan probe-based quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) assay to validate comparison with serum biochemical parameters and histopathological examination. Two sets of dysregulated miRNA candidates in serum and liver tissue were selected in the screening phase. After qRT-PCR validation, a panel of compound- and herb- related serum miRNAs was identified.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We have demonstrated that this panel of serum miRNAs provides potential biomarkers for diagnosis of DILI with high sensitivity and specificity.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Center of Drug Screening, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Wen
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zhen-Zhou
authors.initials: ZZ
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yi-Jing
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Tong-Yue
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.forename: Chen-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Lu-Yong
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D027742:Dioscorea; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000009:adverse effects*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D035683:MicroRNAs