Brief Communication abstract


Nature Medicine 15, 31 - 33 (2009)
Published online: 4 January 2009 | doi:10.1038/nm.1902

Decreased levels of microRNA miR-122 in individuals with hepatitis C responding poorly to interferon therapy

Magdalena Sarasin-Filipowicz1,2,4, Jacek Krol3,4, Ilona Markiewicz3, Markus H Heim1,2 & Witold Filipowicz3

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Several microRNAs (miRNAs), including liver-specific miR-122, have been implicated in the control of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA replication and its response to interferon (IFN) in human hepatoma cells. Our analysis of liver biopsies from subjects with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) undergoing IFN therapy revealed no correlation of miR-122 expression with viral load and markedly decreased pretreatment miR-122 levels in subjects who had no virological response during later IFN therapy; other investigated miRNAs showed only limited changes. These data have implications for the prospect of targeting miRNAs for CHC therapy.

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  1. Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Hebelstrasse 20, CH-4031 Basel, Switzerland.
  2. Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Basel, Petersgraben 4, CH-4031 Basel, Switzerland.
  3. Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland.
  4. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Correspondence to: Markus H Heim1,2 e-mail: markus.heim@unibas.ch

Correspondence to: Witold Filipowicz3 e-mail: witold.filipowicz@fmi.ch



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