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. 2013 Apr;5(4):1101-1104.
doi: 10.3892/etm.2013.937. Epub 2013 Jan 30.

Differential expression of plasma miR-146a in sepsis patients compared with non-sepsis-SIRS patients

Lina Wang  1 , Hua-Cheng Wang, Cha Chen, Jianming Zeng, Qian Wang, Lei Zheng, Huan-DU Yu
Affiliations

Differential expression of plasma miR-146a in sepsis patients compared with non-sepsis-SIRS patients

Lina Wang et al. Exp Ther Med. 2013 Apr.

Abstract

Sepsis is a subtype of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), which is characterized by infection. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs), including miR-150, miR-146a and miR-223, are potential biomarkers of sepsis. In this study, we demonstrated that measuring the relative expression of miR-146a/U6 in plasma, using the 2-ΔΔCt method, provides a method for differentiating between sepsis and non-sepsis-SIRS. We observed a significant increase in miR-146a expression in the initial cohort of 6 non-sepsis-SIRS patients compared to the 4 sepsis patients (P=0.01) and in the second cohort of 8 non-sepsis-SIRS patients compared to the 10 sepsis patients (P=0.027). Additionally, we identified that sodium citrate and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) K2 may be used as anticoagulant reagents. Generation of a standard curve is not necessary in these diagnostic tests, unless the standard of normalization is carefully selected. Thus we provide more detailed guidance for the clinical use of circulating miRNA biomarkers.

Keywords: diagnosis; miR-146a; sepsis.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison of miR-146a expression measures by real-time qRT-PCR. Data were normalized to U6 and were presented as 2[Ct(miR - 146a) - Ct(U6)]. The levels of miR-146a were significantly reduced in the sepsis plasma samples. Triplicate assays were performed on each RNA sample. SP (C1), sepsis plasma samples in cohort 1 (n=4); SP (C2), sepsis plasma samples in cohort 2 (n=6); N-SP (C1), non-sepsis-SIRS plasma samples in cohort 1 (n=10); N-SP (C2), non-sepsis-SIRS plasma samples in cohort 2 (n=8). Significant increases in miR-146a expression are indicated by *P=0027 and **P= 0.01. qRT-PCR, quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction; SIRS, systemic inflammatory response syndrome.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Standard curve for qRT-PCR assays generated for miR-146a using a dilution series of miR-146a mimics purchased from RiboBio Co., Ltd. qRT-PCR, quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis using serum miR-146a for discriminating sepsis patients from non-sepsis-SIRS patients. The AUC (area under the ROC curve) was 0.813 (95% CI, 0.608-1.017) with a specificity of 87.5% and sensitivity of 60%, respectively. SIRS, systemic inflammatory response syndrome.
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