Abstract
BackgroundLiver cirrhosis is associated with high morbidity and mortality. MicroRNAs (miRs) circulating in the blood are an emerging new class of biomarkers. In particular, the serum level of the liver-specific miR-122 might be a clinically useful new parameter in patients with acute or chronic liver disease.AimHere we investigated if the serum level of miR-122 might be a prognostic parameter in patients with liver cirrhosis.Methods107 patients with liver cirrhosis in the test cohort and 143 patients in the validation cohort were prospectively enrolled into the present study. RNA was extracted from the sera obtained at the time of study enrollment and the level of miR-122 was assessed. Serum miR-122 levels were assessed by quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and were compared to overall survival time and to different complications of liver cirrhosis.ResultsSerum miR-122 levels were reduced in patients with hepatic decompensation in comparison to patients with compensated liver disease. Patients with ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and hepatorenal syndrome had significantly lower miR-122 levels than patients without these complications. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that the miR-122 serum levels were associated with survival independently from the MELD score, sex and age.ConclusionsSerum miR-122 is a new independent marker for prediction of survival of patients with liver cirrhosis.
Highlights
End stage liver disease is associated with high morbidity and mortality
Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that the miR-122 serum levels were associated with survival independently from the model of end stage liver disease (MELD) score, sex and age
The patient characteristics are shown in Table 1. 90 patients (84.1%) showed signs of hepatic decompensation, whereas 17 patients had compensated liver cirrhosis
Summary
End stage liver disease is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Developed for estimating risks in patients undergoing transjugular portosystemic shunt procedure [5], the model of end stage liver disease (MELD) score has been used for several years to attribute the risk of death for patients with liver cirrhosis, rendering it the lead parameter for allocation of livers for transplantation [6,7]. The MELD score is predictive for patients with complications of liver cirrhosis such as acute bleeding or hepatorenal syndrome [8,9]. The MELD score has some shortcomings as it does not include all complications of liver cirrhosis, e.g. ascites or hepatic encephalopathy. Liver cirrhosis is associated with high morbidity and mortality. The serum level of the liver-specific miR-122 might be a clinically useful new parameter in patients with acute or chronic liver disease
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