DOI: 10.4103/ajop.ajop_13_26 ISSN: 1687-9945

Telomere length and mitochondrial DNA copy number as noninvasive markers in pediatric autoimmune hepatitis

Marwa L. Helal, Samar E. Ghanem, Ola Ahmed Fouad, Hosam Eldin Mohamed Basiouny, Radwa H. Salem, Sally Wahid. Elkhadry, Hanan M. Bedair, Gihan Ahmed Sobhy, Tahany Abd El Hamid Salem
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Background

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) in children is an outcome of a dysregulated immune response that progresses to cirrhosis if not promptly addressed. Children’s progression from fibrosis to cirrhosis is not well defined. For patients with increased liver fibrosis, telomere shortening and altered mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) are prevalent indicators of cellular dysfunction in autoimmune diseases.

Aim

Was to estimate the changes in mtDNAcn and telomere length (TL) in children with AIH as noninvasive indicators of AIH.

Patients and methods

The study included 21 AIH children and 21 healthy children as a control group. A qPCR was used to estimate mtDNAcn and TL.

Results

Children with AIH exhibited a significantly lower TL and mtDNAcn than healthy controls ( P =0.0001). Both could discriminate cases from control with high sensitivity and specificity. Patients with none to mild degrees of fibrosis (F0/F2) exhibited significantly higher TL and mtDNAcn values than those with greater degrees of fibrosis (F3 and F4) with better sensitivity and specificity in differentiating between stages.

Conclusion

A quantitative decrease of TL and mtDNAcn in pediatric patients with advanced AIH, may point to the involvement of mitochondrial copy number and telomere shortening in AIH in children.

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