Circulating microRNA signature in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: from serum non-coding RNAs to liver histology and disease pathogenesis

We used a screening strategy of global serum microRNA (miRNA) profiling, followed by a second stage of independent replication and exploration of liver expression of selected miRNAs to study: (1) the circulating miRNA signature associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) progression and predictive power, (2) the role of miRNAs in disease biology and (3) the association between circulating miRNAs and features of the metabolic syndrome.

The study used a case-control design and included patients with NAFLD proven through biopsy and healthy controls.