title: Analysis of association between circulating miR-122 and histopathological features of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in patients free of hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The association between circulating microRNA-122 (miR-122) and histopathological features of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remains unclear.
  
  
  METHODS
  The association of serum miR-122 levels with histopathological features of NAFLD (steatosis, ballooning, lobular inflammation, and stage, as histological components of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis) was examined in serial liver biopsies from 36 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-free Japanese patients with histopathologically-proven NAFLD. The median interval between first and second liver biopsies was 4.6 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In patients who showed improvement of histopathological scores (steatosis, ballooning, and stage), serum miR-122 levels were significantly lower at second biopsy than first biopsy. In patients who showed no improvement, the changes at second biopsy were not different from those at first biopsy. There were significant and strong associations between serum miR-122 ratio (ratio of level at second biopsy to that at first biopsy) and changes in histopathological scores (of steatosis, lobular inflammation, and stage). There were also significant and strong associations between serum miR-122 ratio and changes in other clinical parameters, including aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Longitudinal examination of serial liver biopsies showed the association of serum miR-122 with histopathological features of HCC-free NAFLD patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatology, Toranomon Hospital and Okinaka Memorial Institute for Medical Research, 2-2-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0001, Japan. akuta-gi@umin.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Akuta
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatology, Toranomon Hospital and Okinaka Memorial Institute for Medical Research, 2-2-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0001, Japan.
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatology, Toranomon Hospital and Okinaka Memorial Institute for Medical Research, 2-2-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0001, Japan.
authors.forename: Fumitaka
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatology, Toranomon Hospital and Okinaka Memorial Institute for Medical Research, 2-2-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0001, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saitoh
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatology, Toranomon Hospital and Okinaka Memorial Institute for Medical Research, 2-2-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0001, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Arase
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatology, Toranomon Hospital and Okinaka Memorial Institute for Medical Research, 2-2-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0001, Japan.
authors.forename: Shunichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujiyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatology, Toranomon Hospital and Okinaka Memorial Institute for Medical Research, 2-2-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0001, Japan.
authors.forename: Hitomi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sezaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatology, Toranomon Hospital and Okinaka Memorial Institute for Medical Research, 2-2-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0001, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hosaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatology, Toranomon Hospital and Okinaka Memorial Institute for Medical Research, 2-2-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0001, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatology, Toranomon Hospital and Okinaka Memorial Institute for Medical Research, 2-2-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0001, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Liver Research Laboratory, Toranomon Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Mariko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatology, Toranomon Hospital and Okinaka Memorial Institute for Medical Research, 2-2-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0001, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatology, Toranomon Hospital and Okinaka Memorial Institute for Medical Research, 2-2-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0001, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiromitsu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kumada
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D001706:Biopsy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C531907:MIRN122 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase
keywords: Circulating; Longitudinal observation; Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; Serial liver biopsy; microRNA-122