The Diagnostic Value of Serum miRNA-221-3p, miRNA-382-5p, and miRNA-4271 in Ischemic Stroke

Abstract

Background: Circulating miRNAs have been demonstrated as biomarkers for a number of diseases. In the present study, we aimed to compare the serum levels of the miRNA-221-3p, miRNA-382-5p, and miRNA-4271 between ischemic stroke and healthy control subjects and explore the potential roles as noninvasive biomarkers in the diagnosis of ischemic stroke.

Methods: Seventy-eight patients with ischemic stroke (60 ± 10.47 years old) and 39 healthy control subjects (61 ± 5.14 years old), age and sex matched, were recruited into the present study. The circulating miRNA levels were determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction using miRNA qPCR Assay Kit (CW Biotech, Beijing, China). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were analyzed using the SPSS software package (version 17) (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL).

Results: Circulating serum miRNA-221-3p and miRNA-382-5p levels were significantly lower in patients with ischemic stroke compared to healthy control subjects, whereas there was no significant difference in the serum levels of miRNA-4271 between the stroke patients and healthy controls (P > .05). ROC curves revealed the areas under the curve for circulating miRNA-221-3p, miRNA-382-5p, and miRNA-4271 to be .8106, .7483, and .6317 in ischemic stroke patients compared with healthy volunteers, respectively. There were no correlations between circulating miRNAs and laboratory determinations except that the levels of circulating miRNA-4271 were positively correlated with glucose (r = .274, P = .031).

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that serum circulating miRNA-221-3p and miRNA-382-5p might be used as potential noninvasive biomarkers for the diagnosis of ischemic stroke.

Keywords: Serum miRNAs; biomarkers; diagnosis; ischemic stroke.