Abstract:Objective This study aimed to assess the correlation of plasma miR-126 with the risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), severity, inflammation level and prognosis in sepsis patients. Methods One hundred and seventy-two sepsis patients were enrolled in this study. The peripheral blood samples of patients were collected within 24 hours after hospital admission, and plasma was separated for miR-126 expression detection by quantitive polymerase chain reaction. The expressions of inflammatory cytokines (including TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-17) levels in plasma were evaluated by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA). Meanwhile, the 28-day mortality was recorded as well. Results There were 50 (30.8%) patients who had ARDS during hospitalization, and plasma miR-126 expression was elevated in ARDS patients compared with non-ARDS patients (P<0.001), and it could differentiate ARDS patients form non-ARDS patients with AUC of 0.741 (95%CI: 0.666-0.815) according to the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis. The multivariate logistic regression model analysis revealed that plasma miR-126 (high vs. low) independently predicted higher risk of ARDS (P<0.001). In addition, in the total sepsis patients, plasma miR-126 expression was positively correlated with levels of Scr (P=0.004), CRP (P<0.001), PCT (P<0.001), APACHE II score (P<0.001), SOFA score (P<0.001), and TNF-α (P=0.001), IL-1β (P=0.002), IL-6 (P=0.011) as well as IL-17 (P=0.002) expressions in plasma. Moreover, the plasma miR-126 was upregulated in non-survivors compared with that in survivors (P<0.001), ROC curve analysis revealed that it could distinguish survivors form the non-survivors with AUC of 0.686 (95%CI: 0.601-0.771). Conclusion Higher circulating miR-126 expression is correlated with higher risk of ARDS and could serve as a biomarker for disease surveillance and prognosis in sepsis.
