CIRCULATING miR-216a-5p, miR-375 AND miR-551b-5p AS POTENTIAL BIOMARKERS FOR EARLY SEVERITY STRATIFICATION IN ACUTE PANCREATITIS

Abstract

Background: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory disease that can range from an uncomplicated form to severe one with organ failure and a significant rise in mortality. Recognizing patients who will experience severe forms of the disease at an early stage is not always possible with standard biochemical tests and clinical scoring systems. Researchers are now turning to microRNAs (miRNAs) as potential biomarkers due to their stability in circulation and involvement in inflammatory processes. The present study aims to assess the levels of circulating miR-216a-5p, miR-375, and miR-551b-5p and their association with AP severity. Methods: It is suggested that a prospective case-control study was carried out on 50 subjects, of which 40 were found to have acute pancreatitis (AP), while the remaining 10 were healthy. Patients were divided into two groups: those with mild cases (low-risk group, n=20) and those with severe cases (high-risk group, n=20) depending on the severity of the illness. miRNA was isolated from the blood plasma with the use of miRNeasy Serum/Plasma Advanced kit, and cDNA was synthesized from the samples. Additionally, qPCR was used to measure the relative quantity of miRNAs, which was calculated using the 2^-ΔΔCt method. The results were analyzed using statistical tests with the threshold set at P<0.05. Results: The circulating expression of miR-216a-5p was significantly increased in high-risk acute pancreatitis (AP) patients than that in the control group (P = 0.0004) and low-risk group (P = 0.026). Moreover, the expression of miR-551b-5p was notably down-regulated in high-risk patients in contrast to the low-risk group (P = 0.020). In addition, miR-375 showed an upward tendency in high-risk patients, but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.065). Conclusion: Circulating miR-216a-5p and miR-551b-5p demonstrated strong associations with the severity of acute pancreatitis. Moreover, these microRNAs can be considered potential non-invasive biomarkers for the early risk stratification of acute pancreatitis. Although miR-375 was shown to possess limited diagnostic accuracy, further investigations, including multi-center trials, are necessary to confirm the results and determine the role of microRNAs in acute pancreatitis management.