ROC analysis revealed that hsa-miR-122-5p, hsa-miR-223 and hsa-miR-29c-3p identified patients with ≥F2 fibrosis with area under the curve (AUC) =0.745, 0.631 and 0.670, respectively. hsa-miR-122-5p identified patients with ≥F3 disease (AUC=0.783). hsa-miR-122-5p, hsa-miR-223 and hsa-miR-29c-3p identified patients with cirrhosis with AUC=0.776, 0.617 and 0.619, respectively.
Serum miR-126, miR-129, miR-203a, and miR-223 were upregulated in severe fibrosis (≥F3) and cirrhosis (F4) compared with F0-F2 and F0-F3, respectively. miR-221 was upregulated in ≥F3, but unchanged in F4. miR-155, miR-199a, and IFNL3 rs12979860 genotype were not significantly different in all comparisons.