Development of an innovative test method for prevention of liver fibrosis focusing on fatty liver-derived exosomes

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K21692
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 58:Society medicine, nursing, and related fields
• Research Institution: Hirosaki University
• Principal Investigator: Chiba Mitsuru 弘前大学, 保健学研究科, 准教授 (20583735)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-07-30 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 脂肪肝 / NASH / バイオマーカー / microRNA / エクソソーム / 肝線維化 / 非アルコール性脂肪性肝炎 / リキッドバイオプシー

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The results of this study showed that miR-122-5p, miR-192-5p, and miR-22-3p were decreased in the liver and increased in the serum in NASH-induced mice, suggesting that these miRNAs leaked from hepatocytes into the blood due to hepatocyte injury. On the other hand, miR-342-3p, miR-34a-5p, and miR-7118-5p were upregulated in both liver and serum, suggesting that these miRNAs were upregulated in secretion due to increased intracellular expression. These miRNAs may be promising candidates for novel NASH biomarkers. In the future, we will examine the usefulness of serum miRNAs as fibrosis markers among these miRNAs.

Free Research Field

臨床検査

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究ではNASHの早期診断を目指した新たな血清中miRNAバイオマーカー候補を複数同定した。これらが将来初期NASH診断バイオマーカーとして利用されれば、脂肪肝患者が初期の肝線維化状態に進展しているかどうか、今後肝生検が必要であるか、などの定量評価が可能となる。早期のNASH診断により肝硬変や肝癌への進展予防が可能となるため、肝疾患の予防医学での臨床的意義が非常に大きい。