microRNAs and Other Serological Markers of Liver Fibrosis in Patients with Alcohol-Related Liver Cirrhosis

<b>Background</b>: It is essential to identify novel non-invasive markers of liver fibrosis for clinical and scientific purposes. Thus, the goal of our survey was to assess the serological expression of selected microRNAs (miRNAs) in patients with alcohol-related liver cirrhosis (ALC) and to correlate them with other existing markers. <b>Methods</b>: Two hundred and thirty-nine persons were enrolled in the study: one hundred and thirty-nine with ALC and one hundred healthy controls. Serological expression of miR-126-3p, miR-197-3p and miR-1-3p was evaluated in all participants. Direct markers of liver fibrosis (PICP, PIIINP, PDGF-AB, TGF-α and laminin) together with indirect indices (AAR, APRI, FIB-4 and GPR) were also assessed. The additional evaluation concerned hematological parameters: MPV, PDW, PCT, RDW, MPR, RPR NLR, PLR and RLR. <b>Results</b>: The expression of miR-197-3p was lower in ALC compared to controls (<i>p</i> < 0.0001). miR-126-3p correlated negatively with AST (<i>p</i> < 0.05) and positively with miR-197-3p (<i>p</i> < 0.001). miR-197-3p correlated with direct markers of liver fibrosis-positively with PDGF-AB (<i>p</i> < 0.005) and negatively with TGF-α (<i>p</i> < 0.01). Significant negative relationships were noticed between miR-1-3p and the number of neutrophils (<i>p</i> < 0.05), TGF-α (<i>p</i> < 0.05) and laminin (<i>p</i> < 0.05). <b>Conclusions</b>: The achieved results and observed correlations prove the potential involvement of the examined miRNAs in the process of liver fibrosis, giving a novel insight into the diagnostics of liver cirrhosis.