The preliminary data of gene expressions and bioinformatics analysis of miR-146b-5p and miR-4510 in the Turkish population in HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background and aim: It is reported that miRNAs play an important role in hepatocellular carcinogenesis and may serve as non-invasive biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MiR-4510 and miR-146b-5p expression levels have been found to be associated with HCC. However, their associations with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC (HBV-HCC) are yet to be explored. We aimed to assess the predictive value of expression levels of serum miR-4510 and miR-146b-5p in patients with HBV-HCC and performed bioinformatics analyses based on the miRNA expression profile.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study used the serum of 16 patients with Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB), 15 hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis (HBV-cirrhosis), 15 HBV-HCC, and 16 healthy subjects. The total RNA was isolated from serum, and the expression of miRNAs was measured by qRT-PCR, calculated using the 2^-ΔΔCt methods. MIENTURNET was used to predict miRNA-target gene interactions. The Network Analyst was used to build protein-protein interactions.

Results: There was a significant difference in miR-146b-5p between study groups (p=0.009). MiR-146b-5p expression was found to be significantly reduced in HBV-HCC compared to the HBV-cirrhosis group and healthy controls (p=0.005 and p=0.006, respectively).

Conclusion: The serum miR-146b-5p levels might be a promising tool to be used as a non-invasive diagnostic biomarker for HCC. Our findings shed light on potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of HBV-HCC in terms of selected miRNAs. The target pathways of miR-146b-5p identified by our in-silico analysis to reveal the functional mechanism are "MAPK signaling pathways" and "Pathways in cancer."