Circulating miR-29b positively correlates with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in a Chinese population.

AIM: The early screening of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is of great significance for early detection and intervention in NAFLD. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of metabolic disease, including NAFLD. The aim of this study was to examine the association of serum miR-29a-c with NAFLD in a Chinese population.

METHODS: 276 individuals were enrolled in this study and divided into non-diabetic and diabetic groups. Real-time PCR was performed to quantify the serum miR-29a-c expression levels. The association of miR-29a-c with NAFLD were evaluated in the two groups.

RESULTS: Meta-analysis of results from the two groups indicated that serum miR-29b, but not miR-29a or miR-29c, was positively associated with NAFLD (odds ratio [OR] =2.04(1.16, 3.58), p=0.013 for miR-29b). Additionally, we showed that age, triglyceride (TG) levels, and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels were independently associated with miR-29b (β ± SE=0.004 ± 0.002, p=0.019 for age; β ± SE=0.110 ± 0.054, p=0.042 for TG; β ± SE=0.389 ± 0.161, p=0.016 for FPG). Further analysis of miR-29b with intrahepatic lipid content showed that miR-29b was positively correlated with intrahepatic lipid content (β ± SE=6.055 ± 2.630, p=0.024) after adjustment for age, sex and BMI.

CONCLUSIONS: we revealed that serum miR-29b reflected intrahepatic lipid content and was associated with NAFLD in a Chinese population-based study. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.