Development of a method to predict the severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by measuring body composition and microRNA

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K11531
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 59040:Nutrition science and health science-related
• Research Institution: Kagawa University
• Principal Investigator: Yoneyama Hirohito 香川大学, 医学部, 協力研究員 (80294750)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 岩間 久和 香川大学, 医学部, 准教授 (20398035) ; 正木 勉 香川大学, 医学部, 教授 (30335848)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 非アルコール性脂肪肝炎 / 体組成計測 / マイクロRNA

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We aimed to develop a simple diagnostic method to select high-risk groups for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which is associated with a high rate of liver-related deaths, from among patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and to establish a method for predicting the onset of NASH by combining body composition measurement and serum microRNA (miRNA) measurement.
We performed body composition measurements using bioelectrical impedance analysis on NAFLD/NASH patients who were pathologically diagnosed at our institution, and simultaneously performed comprehensive analysis of serum miRNAs in the patients. Body composition was classified into five types, and the expression intensity of each miRNA was compared between NASH and non-NASH groups. Several miRNA molecular species were identified whose expression intensity was specifically changed in NASH cases, and it was shown that this tendency was stronger in certain body composition types.

Free Research Field

肝臓病学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

NASHの早期診断・発症予測の研究は全世界で行われ、最新の血清バイオマーカーや画像検査法が数多く提案されているが感度・特異度に問題がある。その最大の原因は本疾患の発症進展に最大の影響を及ぼす患者体組成の観点を欠いている事であると思われる。短時間・簡便に行える体組成計測による栄養学的視点を血清miRNA解析に導入した本研究の成果はNASH診断・予測の研究分野に大きなインパクトをもたらすと考える。