Expression and clinical significance of serum lncRNA H19 in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease

Long non-coding RNA H19 (lncRNA H19) plays an important role in lipid metabolism, however, its relationship with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) remains unclear. The aim of this study is to investigate the expression and clinical significance of serum lncRNA H19 in patients with MAFLD. This study enrolled patients with MAFLD and a control group of healthy subjects from January 2023 to March 2024. The serum levels of lncRNA H19 were quantified using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The serum levels of lncRNA H19 in patients with MAFLD were significantly higher compared to the control group (P < .05). Moreover, there was a positive correlation between serum lncRNA H19 and body mass index, triglyceride, total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting blood glucose and uric acid (all P < .05). Conversely, a negative correlation was observed between serum lncRNA H19 and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C; P = .009). Additionally, significant positive associations were found between serum lncRNA H19 and alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and liver stiffness measurement(all P < .05). The optimal cutoff value of serum lncRNA H19 for diagnosing MAFLD was 1.15, with an area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.83, and the sensitivity and specificity were observed to be 87.7% and 72.5%, respectively. The lncRNA H19 exhibits associations with metabolic risk factors, liver function, and liver fibrosis, and can serve as a potential diagnostic biomarker for MAFLD.