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Circulating miR-192 and lncRNA HULC as Non-Invasive Biomarkers of Fibrosis Progression in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
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Mohammad Khosropanah1    , Hooshyar Ghafori2 , Zakaria Vahabzadeh3 , Farshad Sheikhesmaili4 , Abbas Ahmadi3 |
1- Islamic Azad University , mkh1284@gmail.com
2- Islamic Azad University
3- Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences
4- Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj |
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Abstract: (16 Views) |
Background and Aim: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a multifactorial disorder with a rapidly increasing prevalence, particularly among younger populations. The present study aimed to evaluate the serum levels of miR-192 and the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) HULC in patients with NAFLD-related liver fibrosis. miR-192 and HULC represent two distinct classes of regulatory non-coding RNAs and were concurrently evaluated to explore their potentially complementary biomarker information in NAFLD-related fibrosis.
Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, patients with different stages of NAFLD-related liver fibrosis and healthy control individuals were enrolled. Serum levels of miR-192 and HULC were quantified using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software version 25, and diagnostic performance was evaluated by ROC curve analysis.
Results: Serum levels of miR-192 was significantly increased in patients with liver fibrosis compared with the healthy control group and showed a positive correlation with fibrosis severity. Patients with advanced fibrosis showed a significant increase in miR-192 levels than patients without fibrosis. The area under the ROC curve was calculated as 0.818 for miR-192, with a sensitivity of 73.5% and a specificity of 96.7%. Although no significant difference was observed in serum HULC levels between the overall fibrosis group and the healthy control group, significant changes were obtained among different stages of fibrosis. Patients with advanced fibrosis showed significantly higher HULC expression levels than healthy controls and F0 patients. ROC analysis of serum HULC levels showed an AUC of 0.698, with a sensitivity of 61.5% and a specificity of 85.7%.
Conclusion: The results of the study suggest that miR-192 may serve as a promising non-invasive biomarker for evaluating fibrosis progression and discriminating patients with NAFLD-related liver fibrosis from healthy individuals. |
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| Keywords: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, Liver fibrosis, miR-192, HULC, Biomarker |
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Type of Study: Original Research |
Subject:
Biochemistry and Clinical Laboratory
Received: 2026/09/15 | Accepted: 2026/10/11
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