Micro RNAs as a potential biomarker for predicting liver fibrosis severity in hepatitis C virus affected patients

Table 1 Biological variables for routine investigations in hepatitis C virus vs healthy controls

Parameter	HCV cases		Controls		P value
	Median	IQR	Median	IQR
Hb	13.00	11.15-14	12.90	11.6-13.775	0.936
INR	1.08	1-1.1925	1.00	1-1.1	0.001
TSP	7.00	6.6-7.2	7.65	7.3-8	0.001
Albumin	3.90	3.5-4.3	5.00	4.5-5.2	0.001
Bilirubin	0.70	0.4125-0.9	0.70	0.4125-0.9	0.988
AST	72.00	43.25-110	27.00	22-30	0.001
ALT	80.00	44.5-126.25	21.00	16.25-26	0.001
ALP	95.50	82-133.5	77.00	70-96.5	0.001
TLC	7700.00	6800-8900	7700.00	6500-8700	0.497
Plt Cnt. (X1000MM3)	163.50	120.75-221.25	270.00	202.5-347.5	0.001

Hb: Hemoglobin; INR: International normalized ratio; TSP: Total serum protein; AST: Aspartate transaminase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; ALP: Alkaline phosphatase TLC: Total leukocyte count; HCV: Hepatitis C virus.

Table 2 Expression of miRNAs in hepatitis C virus cases in comparison to control group

	HCV cases		Controls		P value
	Median	IQR	Median	IQR
miR-122	0.69	0.18-1.54	0.18	0.125-0.33	0.000
miR-155	0.66	0.22-1.54	0.18	0.125-0.287	0.000
miR-199a	0.29	0.064-1	2.64	1.89-4	0.000
miR-21	0.79	0.225-1.79	0.21	0.154-0.35	0.000

HCV: Hepatitis C virus; IQR: Interquartile range.

Table 3 Expression of miRNAs and other non-invasive markers in hepatitis C virus cases

	No fibrosis (n = 25)		Mild (n = 24)		Moderate (n = 25)		Severe (n = 26)		P value
	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	Mean	SD
Hb	12.79	2.33	12.73	2.48	12.36	2.37	12.06	2.41	0.674
INR	1.11	0.18	1.21	0.23	1.15	0.21	1.15	0.21	0.478
TSP	6.77	0.65	6.89	0.41	6.91	0.64	6.95	0.50	0.683
Albumin	3.95	0.61	3.80	0.63	3.87	0.59	3.84	0.56	0.849
Bilirubin	0.63	0.45	0.71	0.27	0.68	0.32	0.78	0.37	0.488
AST	48.92	22.21	72.96	52.12	99.92	48.72	137.88	100.97	0.000
ALT	59.40	34.72	85.43	84.73	112.56	71.68	127.69	73.42	0.003
ALP	85.28	11.89	83.00	8.52	112.16	22.44	145.19	31.32	0.000
TLC	8584.00	1182.05	7987.50	1375.66	7304.00	1347.37	7203.85	1076.10	0.000
Plt. Cnt. (X1000MM3)	226.56	92.48	194.08	72.86	166.44	61.72	137.27	45.06	0.000
miR122	1.10	0.97	2.32	1.97	6.90	5.66	15.65	13.81	0.000
miR155	1.34	1.17	3.75	3.22	10.09	7.56	7.92	7.44	0.000
miR199a	1.53	1.73	0.36	0.37	0.07	0.07	0.02	0.02	0.000
miR21	0.93	0.92	2.40	1.77	6.52	4.24	16.97	17.77	0.000

Hb: Hemoglobin; INR: International normalized ratio; TSP: Total serum protein; AST: Aspartate transaminase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; ALP: Alkaline phosphatase TLC: Total leukocyte count; HCV: Hepatitis C virus.

Table 4 Area under the curve, Sensitivity, specificity and Youden index for upregulated miRNAs

HCV groups	Micro RNAs	AUC	Sensitivity	Specificity	Youden Index
Mild	miR-122	0.646	79.5%	40.8%	0.203
	miR-155	0.607	70.2%	44.9%	0.151
	miR-21	0.518	98%	24.5%	0.225
Moderate	miR-122	0.774	92%	62.9%	0.549
	miR-155	0.898	96%	76%	0.720
	miR-21	0.826	96%	72.6%	0.686
Severe	miR-122	0.979	96.2%	89.1%	0.852
	miR-155	0.896	88.5%	79.9%	0.683
	miR-21	0.969	92.3%	87.9%	0.802

AUC: Area under the curve; HCV: Hepatitis C virus.

Table 5 Correlation and significance for the special investigations

		miR-122	miR-155	miR-199a	mir-21
Liver stiffness measurement	Correlation Coefficient	0.687	0.546	-0.864	0.793
	P value	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000