Circulating Liver-Enriched miR-122 in COVID-19 Patients: A Longitudinal Real-Life Study

DOI record: { "DOI": "10.3390/ijms27052288", "ISSN": [ "1422-0067" ], "URL": "http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms27052288", "abstract": "<jats:p>Abnormal liver function tests are frequently reported in patients with COVID-19. This study aimed to identify potential treatment-associated hepatocellular injury in COVID-19 patients by dynamically assessing circulating miR-122, a biomarker with high hepatic specificity and sensitivity. An exploratory approach was additionally used, given the limited evidence regarding factors influencing miR-122 expression in this setting. We performed a prospective cohort study including 96 adult participants enrolled at a tertiary hospital in Bucharest, Romania, between March 2022 and July 2023: 78 COVID-19 patients (57 with baseline and follow-up miR-122 assessment after 5 days of treatment and 21 with a single measurement) and 18 non-COVID-19 participants included for comparison. Plasma miR-122 levels were measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction, normalized to U6 small nuclear RNA, and expressed as log10(2−ΔCt). No associations were observed between miR-122 expression and remdesivir administered for standard treatment durations (3–5 days) or other COVID-19–specific therapies. However, a duration-dependent relationship with remdesivir cannot be excluded. Moreover, therapeutic paracetamol use prior to presentation was positively associated with miR-122 expression at follow-up and remained significant after adjustment. Additionally, bivariate analyses revealed inverse correlations between baseline miR-122 and inflammatory biomarkers, with multivariable analysis showing an independent positive association with lymphocyte count.</jats:p>", "alternative-id": [ "ijms27052288" ], "author": [ { "ORCID": "https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3953-0767", "affiliation": [ { "name": "Faculty of Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 37 Dionisie Lupu Street, 020021 Bucharest, Romania" }, { "name": "“Prof. Dr. Matei Balș” National Institute for Infectious Diseases, 1 Calistrat Grozovici Street, 021105 Bucharest, Romania" } ], "authenticated-orcid": false, "family": "Mihai", "given": "Nicoleta", "sequence": "first" }, { "affiliation": [ { "name": "Faculty of Dental Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 37 Dionisie Lupu Street, 020021 Bucharest, Romania" }, { "name": "“Prof. Dr. Matei Balș” National Institute for Infectious Diseases, 1 Calistrat Grozovici Street, 021105 Bucharest, Romania" } ], "family": "Tilișcan", "given": "Cătălin", "sequence": "additional" }, { "ORCID": "https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2703-6586", "affiliation": [ { "name": "“Ştefan S. Nicolau” Institute of Virology, 285 Mihai Bravu Road, 030304 Bucharest, Romania" } ], "authenticated-orcid": false, "family": "Iancu", "given": "Iulia Virginia", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [ { "name": "Faculty of Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 37 Dionisie Lupu Street, 020021 Bucharest, Romania" }, { "name": "“Prof. Dr. Matei Balș” National Institute for Infectious Diseases, 1 Calistrat Grozovici Street, 021105 Bucharest, Romania" } ], "family": "Ganea", "given": "Oana-Alexandra", "sequence": "additional" }, { "ORCID": "https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8520-0375", "affiliation": [ { "name": "Faculty of Dental Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 37 Dionisie Lupu Street, 020021 Bucharest, Romania" }, { "name": "“Prof. Dr. Matei Balș” National Institute for Infectious Diseases, 1 Calistrat Grozovici Street, 021105 Bucharest, Romania" } ], "authenticated-orcid": false, "family": "Adamescu", "given": "Aida-Isabela", "sequence": "additional" }, { "ORCID": "https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0019-934X", "affiliation": [ { "name": "Faculty of Dental Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 37 Dionisie Lupu Street, 020021 Bucharest, Romania" }, { "name": "“Prof. Dr. Matei Balș” National Institute for Infectious Diseases, 1 Calistrat Grozovici Street, 021105 Bucharest, Romania" } ], "authenticated-orcid": false, "family": "Aramă", "given": "Ștefan Sorin", "sequence": "additional" }, { "ORCID": "https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9478-6176", "affiliation": [ { "name": "Faculty of Pharmacy, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 37 Dionisie Lupu Street, 020021 Bucharest, Romania" } ], "authenticated-orcid": false, "family": "Arsene", "given": "Andreea Letiția", "sequence": "additional" }, { "ORCID": "https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2492-6073", "affiliation": [ { "name": "Faculty of Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 37 Dionisie Lupu Street, 020021 Bucharest, Romania" }, { "name": "“Ştefan S. Nicolau” Institute of Virology, 285 Mihai Bravu Road, 030304 Bucharest, Romania" } ], "authenticated-orcid": false, "family": "Ruță", "given": "Simona-Maria", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [ { "name": "Faculty of Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 37 Dionisie Lupu Street, 020021 Bucharest, Romania" }, { "name": "“Prof. Dr. Matei Balș” National Institute for Infectious Diseases, 1 Calistrat Grozovici Street, 021105 Bucharest, Romania" } ], "family": "Aramă", "given": "Victoria", "sequence": "additional" } ], "container-title": "International Journal of Molecular Sciences", "container-title-short": "IJMS", "content-domain": { "crossmark-restriction": false, "domain": [] }, "created": { "date-parts": [ [ 2026, 3, 2 ] ], "date-time": "2026-03-02T10:24:34Z", "timestamp": 1772447074000 }, "deposited": { "date-parts": [ [ 2026, 3, 3 ] ], "date-time": "2026-03-03T12:51:31Z", "timestamp": 1772542291000 }, "indexed": { "date-parts": [ [ 2026, 3, 3 ] ], "date-time": "2026-03-03T15:52:53Z", "timestamp": 1772553173414, "version": "3.50.1" }, "is-referenced-by-count": 0, "issue": "5", "issued": { "date-parts": [ [ 2026, 2, 28 ] ] }, "journal-issue": { "issue": "5", "published-online": { "date-parts": [ [ 2026, 3 ] ] } }, "language": "en", "license": [ { "URL": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "content-version": "vor", "delay-in-days": 0, "start": { "date-parts": [ [ 2026, 2, 28 ] ], "date-time": "2026-02-28T00:00:00Z", "timestamp": 1772236800000 } } ], "link": [ { "URL": "https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/5/2288/pdf", "content-type": "unspecified", "content-version": "vor", "intended-application": "similarity-checking" } ], "member": "1968", "original-title": [], "page": "2288", "prefix": "10.3390", "published": { "date-parts": [ [ 2026, 2, 28 ] ] }, "published-online": { "date-parts": [ [ 2026, 2, 28 ] ] }, "publisher": "MDPI AG", "reference": [ { "article-title": "MicroRNAs in Drug-induced Liver Injury", "author": "Li", "first-page": "162", "journal-title": "J. 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