Expression and significance of the long non-coding RNA EXOC7 in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Objective To investigate the expression of the long non-coding RNA( lncRNA) EXOC7 in serum and liver biopsy tissue of patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver( NAFLD) and its clinical significance. Methods A total of 120 patients who underwent liver biopsy in The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University from January 1,2013 to December 31,2018 and were diagnosed with NAFLD based on imaging and histopathology were enrolled,among whom 47 had nonalcoholic fatty liver( NAFL) and 73 had nonalcoholic steatohepatitis( NASH). A total of 50 liver disease patients without steatosis or steatohepatitis were enrolled as control group. Real-time PCR was used to measure the expression of lncRNA EXOC7 in liver tissue and serum. The t-test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups; an analysis of variance was used for comparison between multiple groups,and the SNK-q test was used for further comparison between two groups. A chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. A Pearson correlation analysis was used to investigate the correlation between lncRNA EXOC7 and biochemical parameters. The receiver operating characteristic( ROC) curve was plotted to investigate the diagnostic value of lncRNA EXOC7. Results Compared with the control group,the patients with NAFL or NASH had significant increases in the expression of lncRNA EXOC7 in liver tissue and serum( all P < 0. 05),and the level of such expression increased with the aggravation of hepatic steatosis and inflammation( F = 19. 96,P < 0. 05). The correlation analysis showed that the expression of lncRNA EXOC7 was positively correlated with total triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol( r = 0. 785 and r = 0. 847,both P < 0. 001) and was negatively correlated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and insulin sensitivity index( r =-0. 726 and-0. 709,both P < 0. 001). LncRNA EXOC7 had an area under the ROC curve of 0. 812( 95% confidence interval: 0. 599-0. 915,P < 0. 001),a sensitivity of85. 42%,and a specificity of 81. 17% in the diagnosis of NAFLD. Conclusion LncRNA EXOC7 is highly expressed in patients with NAFLD,and the expression of lncRNA EXOC7 increases with the aggravation of hepatic steatosis and inflammation,suggesting that lncRNA EXOC7 may be a potential new target for the prevention and treatment of NAFLD.