Severity of Hepatitis C Virus (Genotype-3) Infection Positively Correlates with Circulating MicroRNA-122 in Patients Sera

Introduction. Hepatitis C virus (genotype-3) causes acute and chronic hepatitis infection predomination in India. The infectious phase of the virus requires various host factors for its survival and subsequent viral particle production. Small RNA molecules like microRNA-122 (miR-122) are one such factor mostly present in the liver and play a supportive role in viral replication. Objective. In this study, diagnostic potential of miR-122 is evaluated in the sera of chronic hepatitis C patients. Methods. miRNAs were isolated from the sera samples of patients as well as controls and miR-122 expression was quantified by real-time PCR. Results. A significant augmentation was observed in the level of circulating miR-122 (median level, 0.66 versus 0.29, P = 0.001) in patients compared to controls with ROC value of 0.929 ± 0.034 (P < 0.001). Interestingly, miR-122 level also depicted a significant positive correlation with serum ALT (r = 0.53), AST (r = 0.44), and viral load (r = 0.52). Conclusion. The study thus unveiled the role of miR-122 as a plausible diagnostic biomarker during HCV genotype-3 infection in India.