1.Association between miR-1, miR-133b and liver fibrosis in patients with hepatic alveolar echinococcosis
Aierken AYINUER ; Abulizi ABUDUAINI ; Tuergan TALAITI ; Tiemin JIANG ; Yasenjiang GULIMILA ; Tuergan AISAITI ; Aimaitijiang YILIZHATI ; Nuermaimaiti SHAYITIJIANG ; Jintian LI ; Li LUO ; Aji-Tuergan AILI
Chinese Journal of Endemiology 2023;42(9):689-696
Objective:To investigate the relationship between microRNA (miR)-1, miR-133b and hepatic fibrosis in patients with hepatic alveolar echinococcosis.Methods:From October 2020 to April 2021, patients who were definitely diagnosed as hepatic alveolar echinococcosis (9 cases), cirrhosis (9 cases) and hepatocellular carcinoma (5 cases) in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University were selected as the research subjects, and healthy volunteers in the same period were taken as the control (10 cases). Peripheral blood samples of all subjects were collected to prepare plasma, and the expression levels of miR-1 and miR-133b in peripheral blood were detected by quantitative real-time PCR. At the same time, tissue samples around the liver lesion (proximal), and the corresponding tissues about 5 cm from the lesion (distal) were collected from 5 patients with hepatic alveolar echinococcosis, and immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the cell activation related indicators [cyclinD1, cyclin dependent kinase 1 (CDK1), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA)], fibrosis indicators (Collagen Ⅰ, Collagen Ⅲ), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) signal pathway related genes [TGF-β1, TGF-β1 receptor type Ⅰ/Ⅱ (TGF-β1RⅠ, TGF-β1RⅡ)] and its downstream related proteins (SMAD2, SMAD3).Results:The quantitative real-time PCR results showed that there were significant differences in the expression levels of miR-1 and miR-133b in the peripheral blood of patients with hepatic alveolar echinococcosis, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and the control group ( H = 16.54, 28.40, P < 0.001); the expression levels of miR-1 and miR-133b in hepatic alveolar echinococcosis group were higher than those in control group, cirrhosis group ( P < 0.05). The expression levels of CDK1 (0.46 ± 0.02, 0.42 ± 0.01), α-SMA (0.54 ± 0.09, 0.51 ± 0.07), TGF-β1 (0.55 ± 0.15, 0.51 ± 0.13), TGF-β1RⅠ (0.58 ± 0.09, 0.57 ± 0.08), and TGF-β1RⅡ(0.40 ± 0.05, 0.39 ± 0.05) between the proximal and distal tissue of liver lesion in hepatic alveolar echinococcosis patients were statistically significantly different ( t = 5.56, 3.17, 3.18, 4.27, 5.65, P = 0.005, 0.034, 0.034, 0.024, 0.011). There was no statistically significant difference in the expression levels of CyclinD1, Collagen Ⅰ, Collagen Ⅲ, SMAD2 and SMAD3 between the proximal and distal tissue of liver lesion in hepatic alveolar echinococcosis patients ( t = 3.06, 3.06, 2.86, 1.43, 1.50, P = 0.055, 0.055, 0.064, 0.247, 0.230). Pearson correlation analysis showed that miR-1 in the patients' peripheral blood was positively correlated with TGF-β1RⅠ in the proximal tissue of the liver lesion ( P = 0.001); there was no correlation between miR-1, miR-133b and CDK1, α-SMA, TGF-β1, TGF-β1RⅡ( P > 0.05). Conclusions:The expression of TGF-β1 signaling pathway related factors in the proximal tissue of liver lesion in patients with hepatic alveolar echinococcosis is up-regulated. The expression of miR-1 and miR-133b in peripheral blood is upregulated, and miR-1 is positively correlated with TGF-β1RⅠ level in proximal tissue of liver lesion, suggesting that miR-1 may promote the occurrence of liver fibrosis in hepatic alveolar echinococcosis.