Negative Association of Plasma Levels of Vitamin D and miR-378 With Viral Load in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B Infection

BACKGROUND: Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) is accompanied by inflammation of liver because of infection with Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). Previous studies revealed an inverse association between vitamin D and HBV DNA levels. OBJECTIVES: The current study aimed to investigate the levels of 25 (OH) D3 (the steady form of vitamin D), miR-378 and HBV DNA in the patients with CHB. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred and seventy three patients with HBeAg negative CHB were recruited for the study. Plasma levels of HBVDNA and 25 (OH) D3 were quantified. The expression level of miR-378 in plasma was measured by a relative quantitative Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) assay. RESULTS: In the pathway regression analysis, the plasma level of 25 (OH) D3 showed a significant inverse correlation with plasma levels of HBV DNA (-0.198, P = 0.008) and direct correlation with miR-378 (0.188, P = 0.013). Similarly plasma level of miR-378 had inverse association with HBV DNA level (-0.177, P = 0.020). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that vitamin D could involve in a miRNA- mediated regulatory pathway in control of HBV replication. Further studies are recommended to understand the effects of miR-378 and anti-infective action of vitamin D on Hepatitis B Virus.