Expression Analysis of miR-20a-5p, miR-124-3P, miR-125b-5p, Resistin,TLR4, CD36 and TNF-α relationship in blood mononuclear cells frompatients with atherosclerosis

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Maysam Mard-Soltani 1
Ghazaleh Bagheri 2 , 3
Golnar Bakhtyar 4
Fatemeh Ahmadpour 5
Arash Amin 6
Gholamreza Shahsavari 2 , 3
1 Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medical Sciences, Dezful University of Medical Sciences, Dezful, Iran.
2 Cardiovascular Research Center, Shahid Rahimi Hospital, School of Medicine, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.
3 Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.
4  Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.
5 Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Medicine, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.
6 Lorestan Heart Center (Madani Hospital), Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.
10.22088/IJMCM.BUMS.14.4.1014
Abstract
Atherosclerosis is the primary cause of death in developed nations. The key risk factors
for atherosclerosis are inflammation and lipid disorders which may all be influenced by
microRNAs (miRs). This study evaluated the correlation between miR-20a-5p, miR-124-
3p, miR-125b-5p, and key atherogenic and inflammatory genes (TLR4, Resistin, CD36,
TNF-α) in PBMCs from patients with angiography-proven atherosclerosis. 45 healthy
individuals and 45 atherosclerosis patients were selected. After sampling patients and
isolating in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) cells, gene levels were measured
using real-time polymerase chain reaction. In the atherosclerosis patient group, Toll-like
receptor 4 (TLR4) and Resistin were upregulated compared to the control group (p
<0.05). Conversely, miR-20a was downregulated in patients and inversely correlated
with fasting blood glucose (p <0.05). Additionally, miR-124 expression with Resistin
had a significant negative correlation (p <0.05). The study confirmed that the expression
level of miR-125b levels may serve as a potential biomarker for atherosclerosis (p <0.01).
The reduction of miR-20a was related to the risk of developing atherosclerosis (p <0.05).
miR-20a, miR-124, and miR-125b present promising therapeutic targets for
atherosclerosis. Since atherosclerosis has no specific clinical symptoms and early
diagnosis is very important, the diagnostic biomarker miR-125b has the potential to
significantly aid in the early detection of various diseases with an area under the curve
(AUC) of 0.74, 52% sensitivity, and 74% specificity. In addition, the measurement of
miR-20a helps determine the progression of atherosclerosis risk.
Keywords
Atherosclerosis
microRNAs
TLR4
CD36
Resistin