title: Circulating microRNA Profiles in Patients with Type-1 Autoimmune Hepatitis.
abstract: Recent studies have demonstrated that micro (mi)RNA molecules can be detected in the circulation and can serve as potential biomarkers of various diseases. This study used microarray analysis to identify aberrantly expressed circulating miRNAs in patients with type 1 autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) compared with healthy controls. Patients with well-documented and untreated AIH were selected from the National Hospital Organization (NHO)-AIH-liver-network database. They underwent blood sampling and liver biopsy with inflammation grading and fibrosis staging before receiving treatment. To further confirm the microarray data, circulating expression levels of miR-21 and miR-122 were quantified by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction in 46 AIH patients, 40 patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC), and 13 healthy controls. Consistent with the microarray data, serum levels of miR-21 were significantly elevated in AIH patients compared with CHC patients and healthy controls. miR-21 and miR-122 serum levels correlated with alanine aminotransferase levels. Circulating levels of miR-21 and miR-122 were significantly reduced in AIH patients with liver cirrhosis, and were inversely correlated with increased stages of fibrosis. By contrast, levels of circulating miR-21 showed a significant correlation with the histological grades of inflammation in AIH. We postulate that aberrantly expressed serum miRNAs are potential biomarkers of AIH and could be implicated in AIH pathogenesis. Alternations of miR-21 and miR-122 serum levels could reflect their putative roles in the mediation of inflammatory processes in AIH.
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Migita
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsumasa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Komori
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kozuru
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiuchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Sakamoto 1-7-1, Nagasaki, 852-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yasunami
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, 305-8575, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Seigo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abiru
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamasaki
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nagaoka
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigemune
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bekki
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kamitsukasa
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohta
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimada
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Hironao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mita
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Taizo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hijioka
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Haruhiro
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kouno
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakamuta
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ario
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Toyokichi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Muro
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Hironori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugi
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nishimura
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Kaname
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshizawa
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Naganuma
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Komatsu
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Oohara
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Fujio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Makita
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tomizawa
authors.affiliation: NHO-AIH study group, Nagasaki Medical Center, kubara 2-1001-1 Omura, Nagasaki, 856-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yatsuhashi
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000097:blood; D019693:Hepatitis, Autoimmune / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D015415:Biomarkers; C531907:MIRN122 microRNA, human; C524940:MIRN21 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs