Emerging Biomarker Potential of Extracellular Vesicle-Enclosed MicroRNAs for Liver Fibrosis Detection
Liver fibrosis is a frequent pathological outcome of long-term liver diseases, arising from sustained damage to the liver. Two main types of liver damage can trigger fibrotic progression: hepatocellular injury, often caused by viral infections, alcohol, or metabolic disorders, and cholestatic injury...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| author | Sharmila Fagoonee Valeria Menchise Daniela Delli Castelli Stefania Bruno |
| author_facet | Sharmila Fagoonee Valeria Menchise Daniela Delli Castelli Stefania Bruno |
| author_sort | Sharmila Fagoonee |
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| description | Liver fibrosis is a frequent pathological outcome of long-term liver diseases, arising from sustained damage to the liver. Two main types of liver damage can trigger fibrotic progression: hepatocellular injury, often caused by viral infections, alcohol, or metabolic disorders, and cholestatic injury, associated with impaired bile flow due to autoimmune or congenital conditions. Despite diverse etiologies, liver fibrosis exhibits conserved biological processes, including hepatocyte death, chronic inflammation, disruption of epithelial or endothelial barriers, and excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) components. These coordinated events reflect the complex interplay among parenchymal damage, immune activation, and fibrogenic signaling pathways. If unresolved, fibrosis may progress to cirrhosis, liver failure, or hepatocellular carcinoma. In the pursuit of non-invasive biomarkers for early detection and monitoring of fibrosis, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have garnered significant attention. Among the diverse cargoes within EVs, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as particularly promising due to their stability, disease-specific expression patterns, and involvement in fibrogenic signaling. This review explores the role of EV-associated miRNAs in liver fibrosis, highlighting key candidates implicated in hepatocellular and cholestatic injury and their clinical potential as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, with special focus on MAFLD/MASH, primary sclerosing cholangitis, primary biliary cholangitis, and biliary atresia as representatives. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9ea07a605ca74d5eae608b2d195a08a1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2073-4409 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
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| series | Cells |
| spelling | doaj-art-9ea07a605ca74d5eae608b2d195a08a12025-08-20T03:50:17ZengMDPI AGCells2073-44092025-07-011413102510.3390/cells14131025Emerging Biomarker Potential of Extracellular Vesicle-Enclosed MicroRNAs for Liver Fibrosis DetectionSharmila Fagoonee0Valeria Menchise1Daniela Delli Castelli2Stefania Bruno3Institute of Biostructure and Bioimaging (CNR), Molecular Biotechnology Center “Guido Tarone”, 10126 Turin, ItalyInstitute of Biostructure and Bioimaging (CNR), Molecular Biotechnology Center “Guido Tarone”, 10126 Turin, ItalyDepartment of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Molecular Biotechnology Center “Guido Tarone”, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, ItalyDepartment of Medical Sciences, University of Torino, 10126 Turin, ItalyLiver fibrosis is a frequent pathological outcome of long-term liver diseases, arising from sustained damage to the liver. Two main types of liver damage can trigger fibrotic progression: hepatocellular injury, often caused by viral infections, alcohol, or metabolic disorders, and cholestatic injury, associated with impaired bile flow due to autoimmune or congenital conditions. Despite diverse etiologies, liver fibrosis exhibits conserved biological processes, including hepatocyte death, chronic inflammation, disruption of epithelial or endothelial barriers, and excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) components. These coordinated events reflect the complex interplay among parenchymal damage, immune activation, and fibrogenic signaling pathways. If unresolved, fibrosis may progress to cirrhosis, liver failure, or hepatocellular carcinoma. In the pursuit of non-invasive biomarkers for early detection and monitoring of fibrosis, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have garnered significant attention. Among the diverse cargoes within EVs, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as particularly promising due to their stability, disease-specific expression patterns, and involvement in fibrogenic signaling. This review explores the role of EV-associated miRNAs in liver fibrosis, highlighting key candidates implicated in hepatocellular and cholestatic injury and their clinical potential as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, with special focus on MAFLD/MASH, primary sclerosing cholangitis, primary biliary cholangitis, and biliary atresia as representatives.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/14/13/1025fibrosischronic liver diseasesextracellular vesiclesmicroRNAsbiomarkers |
| spellingShingle | Sharmila Fagoonee Valeria Menchise Daniela Delli Castelli Stefania Bruno Emerging Biomarker Potential of Extracellular Vesicle-Enclosed MicroRNAs for Liver Fibrosis Detection Cells fibrosis chronic liver diseases extracellular vesicles microRNAs biomarkers |
| title | Emerging Biomarker Potential of Extracellular Vesicle-Enclosed MicroRNAs for Liver Fibrosis Detection |
| title_full | Emerging Biomarker Potential of Extracellular Vesicle-Enclosed MicroRNAs for Liver Fibrosis Detection |
| title_fullStr | Emerging Biomarker Potential of Extracellular Vesicle-Enclosed MicroRNAs for Liver Fibrosis Detection |
| title_full_unstemmed | Emerging Biomarker Potential of Extracellular Vesicle-Enclosed MicroRNAs for Liver Fibrosis Detection |
| title_short | Emerging Biomarker Potential of Extracellular Vesicle-Enclosed MicroRNAs for Liver Fibrosis Detection |
| title_sort | emerging biomarker potential of extracellular vesicle enclosed micrornas for liver fibrosis detection |
| topic | fibrosis chronic liver diseases extracellular vesicles microRNAs biomarkers |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/14/13/1025 |
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