Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Can measuring microRNA-122 help diagnose liver issues in cats?
By Armstrong, Susan K et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2022·The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and the Roslin Institute, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Investigation of a relationship between serum concentrations of microRNA-122 and alanine aminotransferase activity in hospitalised cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of sick cats in the hospital had their blood tested for liver damage using a new marker called microRNA-122 (miR-122). The study found that cats with high levels of a liver enzyme called alanine aminotransferase (ALT) also had higher levels of miR-122, suggesting that this marker could help diagnose liver problems in cats. This could be a promising tool for vets to better assess liver health in feline patients. Further research is needed to confirm how reliable miR-122 is for detecting liver injury in cats.
People also search for: cat liver disease symptoms · high ALT levels in cats · miR-122 for cat liver health
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Current blood tests to diagnose feline liver diseases are suboptimal. Serum concentrations of microRNA (miR)-122 have been shown in humans, dogs and rodents to be a sensitive and specific biomarker for liver injury. To explore the potential diagnostic utility of measuring serum concentrations of miR-122 in cats, miR-122 was measured in a cohort of ill, hospitalised cats with known serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity. METHODS: In this retrospective study, cats were grouped into those with an ALT activity within the reference interval (0-83 U/l; n = 38) and those with an abnormal ALT activity (>84 U/l; n = 25). Serum concentrations of miR-122 were measured by real-time quantitative PCR and the relationship between miR-122 and ALT was examined. RESULTS: miR-122 was significantly higher in the group with high ALT activity than the ALT group, within normal reference limits (<0.0004). There was also a moderately positive correlation between serum ALT activity and miR-122 concentrations (<0.001; = 0.52). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Concentrations of miR-122 were reliably quantified in feline serum and were higher in a cohort of cats with increased ALT activity than in cats with normal ALT activity. This work highlights the potential diagnostic utility of miR-122 as a biomarker of liver damage in cats and encourages further investigation to determine the sensitivity and specificity of miR-122 as a biomarker of hepatocellular injury in this species.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35703473/