SERUM MICRORNA LET-7B AS A POTENTIAL NON-INVASIVE DIAGNOSTIC BIOMARKER IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEPATITIS B

Abstract Hepatitis B is one of the biggest challenges and threats to health globally. It can lead to serious liver issues such as fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. The current research explores a particular microRNA, Let-7b, in the blood, which can assist in the early diagnosis of HBV without being invasive. We obtained blood samples from 110 patients with HBV infection at Mardan Medical Complex, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. LFTs and viral load were measured using automated chemistry analyzers and real-time PCR, respectively. The expression of miRNA Let-7b was measured by RT-PCR, and the results were calculated using the ∆CT method. Statistical analysis included Student's t-test, ROC analysis, and Pearson correlation, which were performed by SPSS and GraphPad Prism. In the study, 69% were male, and 31% female patients; the majority of HBV infections were aged 21-40 years, accounting for 60% of the total. We examined their blood chemistry; most had a total bilirubin concentration of 0.1-1.4 mg/dl, which accounted for 73.6%, and their alanine aminotransferase (ALT) concentration was approximately 65.63 ng/ml. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used for expression of the miRNA Let-7b, and was significantly higher in HBV patients as compared to healthy individuals, with a p-value of 0.0001. The result showed a value of 0.797 from the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, indicating that Let-7b might be a potential biomarker for diagnosis. There was no association between the level of Let-7b and liver function tests, with a p-value of 0.020. This study suggests that Let-7b might have a role in the pathogenesis of HBV-related liver dysfunction, but further studies are required to fully explore its potential use in clinical settings.