Association of miR-192 Expression with Hepatitis C Virus Infection: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

    Background and Objectives: Infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major threat to global health that can cause cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, progressive fibrosis, chronic inflammation, and hepatic steatosis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are post-transcriptional regulators and mediators of viral pathogenesis. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between liver function during HCV infection and the expression profile of miR-192. Methods: Seventy healthy controls and 70 HCV patients participated in a case-control study. Serum biochemical markers-including albumin, ALP, ALT, AST, and total serum bilirubin (TSB)-were evaluated using standard clinical assays. The 2−ΔΔCT method was used to measure the relative gene expression of miR-192 using total RNA extraction and quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). Results: There were no statistically significant (P > 0.05) age or gender distribution differences between the cohorts. Biochemical profiling revealed significant elevations in serum liver enzymes and TSB, as well as a significant decrease in serum albumin (P < 0.05) among patients. Molecular expression analysis showed that the patient group had a statistically significant downregulation of miR-192 in comparison to healthy controls (patient mean fold change: 0.285 versus control mean fold change: 1.00; P < 0.05). Gender-stratified analyses showed significant variations in fold change values between male and female subgroups. The correlations between clinical liver function parameters and the expression levels of miR-192 were analysed using Pearson correlation test. Conclusion: The considerable downregulation of miR-192 in HCV patients indicates its potential as a non-invasive biomarker to evaluate liver damage.