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. 2021 Jul 31;11(8):1389.
doi: 10.3390/diagnostics11081389.

miRNomic Signature in Very Low Birth-Weight Neonates Discriminates Late-Onset Gram-Positive Sepsis from Controls

Eva Serna  1 , Anna Parra-Llorca  2   3 , Joaquín Panadero  4 , Máximo Vento  2   3 , María Cernada  2   3
Affiliations

miRNomic Signature in Very Low Birth-Weight Neonates Discriminates Late-Onset Gram-Positive Sepsis from Controls

Eva Serna et al. Diagnostics (Basel). .

Abstract

Background and objectives: Neonatal sepsis is a serious condition with a high rate of mortality and morbidity. Currently, the gold standard for sepsis diagnosis is a positive blood culture, which takes 48-72 h to yield results. We hypothesized that identifying differentially expressed miRNA pattern in neonates with late-onset Gram-positive sepsis would help with an earlier diagnosis and therapy.

Methods: This is a prospective observational study in newborn infants with late-onset Gram positive bacterial sepsis and non-septic controls. Complementary to blood culture, an aliquot of 0.5 mL of blood was used to determine small non-coding RNA expression profiling using the GeneChip miRNA 4.0 Array.

Results: A total of 11 very low birth-weight neonates with late-onset Gram-positive sepsis and 16 controls were analyzed. Further, 217 differentially expressed miRNAs were obtained between both groups. Subsequently, a combined analysis was performed with these miRNAs and 4297 differentially expressed genes. We identified 33 miRNAs that regulate our mRNAs, and the most relevant biological processes are associated with the immune system and the inflammatory response.

Conclusions: The miRNA profiling in very low birth-weight neonates distinguishes late-onset Gram-positive sepsis versus control neonates.

Keywords: late-onset Gram-positive sepsis; miRNomic signature; neonatal sepsis; very low birth-weight neonates.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Principal component analysis (PCA) based on the overall miRNome. Individual neonates are plotted based on their respective positions along the three axes: 16 controls in green and 11 Gram-positive bacteria in red.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Heatmap of 217 differentially expressed miRNAs. Each column represents an miRNA and each line a neonate. Overexpressed miRNAs are represented in red and under-expressed miRNAs in blue. The left green bar represents control neonates (n = 16) and the left red bar is Gram-positive septic neonates (n = 11).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Connections between seven overlapping genes (CCNA2, HIF1A, DDIT3, ACTA2, HBEGF, LDLR, and PTGS2) in the top five master regulators (SP1, TGFB1, TNF, NF-kB family, and proteasome endopeptidase complex). The line in green is positive effect and the line in red is negative effect.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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