50. Differential expressional analysis of serum microRNAs in hepatitis C patients of Quetta, Pakistan
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Abstract
Hepatitis C is a liver damaging disease caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV) that has RNA based genome with single stranded structure and positive sense orientation. Chronic infection of HCV increases the risk of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are tiny, non-coding and regulatory RNAs, which are produced by the cell to manage post-transcriptional gene regulation. These miRNAs have been reported for helping the host’s cells against invading viruses. The current research is aimed to analyze 15 miRNAs, selected because of their significance from liver perspective, for differential expression in Hepatitis C Patients of Quetta, Pakistan. The selected 15 miRNAs through literature survey are hsa miR-17, 18a, 20, 21, 24, 92a, 122, 183, 190a, 223, 296, 320c, 483, 642b and 3917. For differential expressional analysis, total RNAs from serum of hepatitis C patient and healthy person were extracted and subjected to stem-loop RT-PCR (reverse transcriptional-PCR) for the selected 15 miRNAs and GAPDH-as housekeeping gene. The 10 miRNAs; hsa-mir-18a, 21, 24, 183, 190a, 296, 320c, 483, 642b and 3917 are observed with over-expression, while the five miRNAs; hsa-mir-17, 20, 92, 122 and 223 with down-regulation in hepatitis C patient. Hepatitis C responding serum miRNAs could be utilizable to diagnose the disease at an early stage and better manage its treatment.
Keywords: HCV; microRNAs; RT-PCR