Serum microRNA expression in patients with HBV-related liver cirrhosis and bacterial infection.

Hepatitis B virus-related liver cirrhosis (HBV-LC) is susceptible to bacterial infections, which could lead to adverse prognosis in patients. MicroRNA (miRNA) is easily detected in peripheral blood and is involved in multiple liver diseases. This pilot study aimed to investigate the differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs in the serum of patients with HBV-LC and bacterial infection, and to identify the potential biomarker. The clinical samples was collected, including four patients with HBV-LC and infection, four patients with HBV-LC without infection, four patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and four healthy controls. miRNA expression was analyzed by Affymetrix GeneChip miRNA 4.0 Array. A total of 385 DE miRNAs (upregulated, 160; downregulated, 225) were detected in patients with HBV-LC and infection compared with patients with HBV-LC without infection. This study was ethically approved by Fujian Medical University Mengchao Hepatobiliary Hospital (Fuzhou, China). A total of 16 serum samples, including patients with HBV-LC and infection (n=4), patients with HBV-LC without infection (n=4), patients with CHB (n=4) and healthy controls (n=4), were collected to detect the DE miRNAs.