Genome-wide hepatic miRNAome profiling in chronic hepatitis C patients using next-generation sequencing [miRNA-seq]. Homo sapiens

Although several dysregulated miRNAs have been reported in liver diseases of different etiologies, no genome-wide analyses of hepatic miRNAs from patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) of HCV genotype 3 have been reported. With the aim of determining miRNAs associated with CHC pathogenesis, we present a comprehensive catalogue of the hepatic miRNAome of CHC-infected and control liver tissues obtained using next-generation sequencing. The study design was divided into discovery and validation phases. In the initial NGS-based discovery phase, 10 liver tissues (CHC-positive: 8, controls: 2) were subjected to miRNA-sequencing, using illumina HiSeq 2000. The expression of selected deregulated miRNAs was validated using qRT-PCR in a validation cohort comprising of 123 treatment-naive CHC patients of the HCV genotype 3 and 60 healthy controls. Furthermore, a comprehensive computational workflow incorporating miRNA–mRNA interaction analysis, was established to determine the functional significance of dysregulated miRNA–mRNA pairs in CHC infection. Overall design: 10 liver tissues (CHC-positive: 8, controls: 2) were subjected to miRNA-sequencing, using illumina HiSeq 2000