Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2010; 32: 487–497SummaryBackground  Progression of non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) can be facilitated by soluble molecules secreted by visceral adipose tissue (VAT). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are likely to regulate some of these molecular pathways involved in pathogenesis of NAFLD.Aim  To profile miRNA expression in the visceral adipose tissue of patients with NAFLD.Methods  Visceral adipose tissue samples were collected from NAFLD patients and frozen. Patients with biopsy‐proven NAFLD were divided into non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) (n = 12) and non‐NASH (n = 12) cohorts controlled for clinical and demographic characteristics. Extracted total RNA was profiled using TaqMan Human MicroRNA arrays. Univariate Mann–Whitney comparisons and multivariate regression analysis were performed to compare miRNA profiles.Results  A total of 113 miRNA differentially expressed between NASH patients and non‐NASH patients (P < 0.05). Of these, seven remained significant after multiple test correction (hsa‐miR‐132, hsa‐miR‐150, hsa‐miR‐433, hsa‐miR‐28‐3p, hsa‐miR‐511, hsa‐miR‐517a, hsa‐miR‐671). Predicted target genes for these miRNAs include insulin receptor pathway components (IGF1, IGFR13), cytokines (CCL3, IL6), ghrelin/obestatin gene, and inflammation‐related genes (NFKB1, RELB, FAS). In addition, two miRNA species, hsa‐miR‐197 and hsa‐miR‐99, were significantly associated with pericellular fibrosis in NASH patients (P < 0.05). Levels of IL‐6 in the serum negatively correlated with the expression levels of all seven miRNAs capable of down regulating IL‐6 encoding gene.Conclusions  miRNA expression from VAT may contribute to the pathogenesis of NAFLD – a finding which may distinguish relatively simple steatosis from NASH. This could help identify potential targets for pharmacological treatment regimens and candidate biomarkers for NASH.

The ION model was superior in predicting NASH and mortality compared with the FLI model. Studies are needed to validate ION.

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is the guarantor of this work and had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.