Work

Evaluating miR-122-5p as a biomarker for anti-tuberculosis drug-induced liver injury: diagnostic efficacy and correlation with liver function indicators

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Background: Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is characterized by hepatic dysfunction due to exogenous agents, potentially progressing to acute liver failure. MicroRNA-122-5p (miR-122-5p) constitutes about 70% of total liver microRNAs, offering high liver specificity and superior sensitivity for detecting injury compared to traditional transaminases, without interference from renal or muscle injury. This cross-sectional study aims to evaluate the diagnostic utility of miR-122-5p as a biomarker for anti-tuberculosis DILI. Methods: miR-122-5p expression was measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Descriptive statistics summarized sample characteristics. For normally distributed continuous variables with equal variances, data were presented as mean ± standard deviation, with comparisons among three groups using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA); otherwise, data were expressed as median (interquartile range) with Kruskal-Wallis H test, followed by Mann-Whitney U pairwise comparisons. Categorical variables were analyzed by Chi-square test. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis assessed diagnostic efficacy (area under the curve (AUC), optimal cutoff, sensitivity, specificity). Correlations with alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were evaluated by Spearman's rank correlation, and scatter plots with fitted lines were generated using Python. Results: > 0.05). Conclusions: Our research indicates that miR-122-5p has potential utility as a biomarker for anti-tuberculosis DILI, particularly in distinguishing it from healthy controls. However, these findings are exploratory, based on a small cohort with no independent validation, and its incremental value beyond conventional liver function tests remains to be determined.

Source: PeerJ

DOI: 10.7717/peerj.21911

Authors: Guowei Ma, Chuang Yang, Yonggang Chen, Ji Luo, Xiang Zhu, Jie Chen

Institutions: Kunming Third People's Hospital, Dali University

Language: English

Topic: Drug-Induced Hepatotoxicity and Protection

Subfield: Pharmacology

Field: Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,395