Circulating RNA Molecules as Biomarkers in Liver Disease

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Liviu S. Enache¹  Elena L. Enache²  Christophe Ramière¹  Olivier Diaz¹  Ligia Bancu²  Anca Sin²  Patrice André¹ 

[1] Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Lyon F-69008, France; E-Mails:;University of Medicine and Pharmacy Tirgu Mures, 38 Gh. Marinescu st., Tirgu Mures 540142, Romania; E-Mails:

关键词: liver disease;    biomarker;    cell-free RNA;    miRNA;    diagnostic;    preanalytical variable;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms151017644

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Liver disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. As in other fields of medicine, there is a stringent need for non-invasive markers to improve patient diagnostics, monitoring and prognostic ability in liver pathology. Cell-free circulating RNA molecules have been recently acknowledged as an important source of potential medical biomarkers. However, many aspects related to the biology of these molecules remain to be elucidated. In this review, we summarize current concepts related to the origin, transportation and possible functions of cell-free RNA. We outline current development of extracellular RNA-based biomarkers in the main forms of non-inherited liver disease: chronic viral hepatitis, hepatocellular carcinoma, non-alcoholic fatty liver, hepato-toxicity, and liver transplantation. Despite recent technological advances, the lack of standardization in the assessment of these markers makes their adoption into clinical practice difficult. We thus finally review the main factors influencing quantification of circulating RNA. These factors should be considered in the reporting and interpretation of current findings, as well as in the proper planning of future studies, to improve reliability and reproducibility of results.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.