title: MicroRNAs as biomarkers and regulators of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
abstract: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a complicated disease affected by the interaction of environmental and genetic factors; however, the precise pathogenesis of the disease has not been fully determined. There is a need to better understand the pathogenesis of NAFLD and to identify non-invasive diagnostic modalities. Recent advances in systematic biology and epigenetics have improved our understanding of the genotype-phenotype relationships in NAFLD. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of a wide range of biological processes. MiRNAs are extremely stable and protect from RNAase-mediated degradation in body fluids, making them attractive candidate biomarkers for the early detection of the disease and the monitoring of disease progression. In this review, we summarized the current knowledge on miRNAs as potential biomarkers of NAFLD at different stages and for the prognosis of advanced diseases. Furthermore, we discussed the implications of miRNAs that functioning in lipid metabolism and hepatic steatosis as well as in hepatic inflammation and fibrosis with regard to the pathogenesis of NAFLD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Center for Fatty Liver, XinHua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Xiao Lin
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Center for Fatty Liver, XinHua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Hai Xia
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Center for Fatty Liver, XinHua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jian Gao
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D005819:Genetic Markers / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers; D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: biomarkers; microRNAs; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; pathogenesis