Expression and clinical significance of serum miR-125b-5p in patients with hepatitis B related liver diseases

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of serum miR-125b-5p in patients with hepatitis B related liver diseases. Methods 159 cases of hepatitis B related liver disease (case group) and 64 cases of health examinees (control group) in our hospital were selected. The case group was further divided into three subgroups according to the disease type, namely, chronic hepatitis B (CHB) group (n=40), hepatitis B virus associated liver cirrhosis (HBV-LC) group (n=65) and HBV associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC) group (n=54). Then the levels of miR-125b-5p, albumin (ALB), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), HBV-DNA, total bilirubin (TBIL), total cholesterol (TC), alpha fetoprotein (AFP), triglyceride (TG) and prothrombin time (PT) were measured in each group. Results The levels of ALT, AST, HBV-DNA, TBIL, PT, AFP, TC and TG in the case group were higher than those in the control group (P 0.05); The expression level of serum miR-125b-5p was positively correlated with the pathological grade, tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage, lymphatic vascular infiltration, lymph node metastasis and recurrence (P 0.01), which were all smaller than miR-125b-5p combined with AFP (χ2=12.657, 13.052, P<0.01). Conclusions Serum miR-125b-5p is elevated in hepatitis B related liver diseases, such as CHB, HBV-LC, HBV-HCC, and is associated with disease progression; High levels of miR-125b-5p, HBV-DNA, and AFP are risk factors for adverse prognosis outcomes in patients with hepatitis B-related liver disease; The sensitivity and specificity of combined detection of miR-125b-5p and AFP in the diagnosis of HBV-HCC are relatively high, so the combined detection of the two indicators can be widely applied in clinical practice. Key words: MicroRNAs; Hepatitis B, chronic; Liver cirrhosis; Liver neoplasms