Plasma level of miR-99b may serve as potential diagnostic and short-term prognostic markers in patients with acute cerebral infarction

Objective The aim of the present study is to explore the potential diagnostic and prognostic value of plasma levels of miR-99 family for patients with acute cerebral infarction (ACI). Methods A total of 112 patients who have been diagnosed with ACI were enrolled in this study, and 112 healthy volunteers were served as the controls. The plasma of the patients and controls were collected, and total RNAs were isolated, and the expression levels of miR-99a, miR-99b, and miR-100 in the plasma of patients and controls were compared determined by RT-qPCR methods; moreover, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve has been drawn to determine whether the plasma levels of miR-99b can distinguish patients with ACI from the controls; furthermore, the short-term prognosis of the patients was evaluated by glasgow outcome scale (GOS), and the correlation between the plasma levels of miR-99b and the GOS of the patients was evaluated. Finally, the correlation between the plasma level of miR-99 and VEGF of ACI patients was analyzed. Results It was observed that miR-99b was significantly decreased in the plasma of ACI patients compared with the healthy controls (P < .01), while the plasma levels of miR-99a and miR-100 showed no significant differences between the patients with ACI and the healthy controls; moreover, the area under the curve (AUC) of miR-99b for the diagnosis of ACI was 0.8882 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.8451-0.9313), suggesting that plasma level of miR-99b is a sensitive marker to distinguish patients with ACI from the healthy volunteers; furthermore, the serum level of miR-99b was negatively correlated with GOS score of the patients (r = -.56, P < .001); finally, the plasma level of miR-99b was negatively correlated with the levels of VEGF (r = -.3013, P = .0012). Conclusion miR-99b was down-regulated in plasma of patients with ACI, and plasma level of miR-99b may be a potential diagnostic and prognostic marker for the diagnosis and treatment of ACI.