Exosomal miRNAs Profile in Children’s Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and the Correlation with Transaminase and Uric Acid

Objective: The incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in children increased rapidly. However, the pathogenesis of NAFLD, especially how non-alcoholic fatty liver progress to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, is still unclear. This study aims to explore the exosomal miRNAs profiles and the underline pathogenesis of child NAFLD. Methods: Twenty NAFLD and 20 health control were enrolled in this study. Circulating exosomes were isolated, and RNA sequencing was performed in test set (3 NAFLD/3 Controls). The differentially expressed miRNAs (DEM) were further validated in validation set (17 NAFLD/17 Controls). Spearman correlation ­analysis was used to investigate the association between DEM and clinical parameters. Results: Eighty-two miRNAs were differentially expressed (absolute fold change >2 and p < 0.05) in the 2 groups, they were involved in fat acid metabolism, starch and sucrose metabolism, bile acid metabolism and inflammation. miRNA122-5p, miRNA34a-5p, ­miRNA155-5p and miRNA146b-3p were up-regulated in NAFLD group (p < 0.05) and positively correlated with body mass index (r, 0.41–0.59), alanine aminotransferase (r, 0.36–0.52), aspartate transaminase (r, 0.31–0.48) and uric acid (UA, r, 0.51–0.69; p < 0.05). Conclusions: Circulating exosomal miRNAs may be involved in the pathogenesis of NAFLD and correlated with transaminase and UA.