Serum miR-133 as a Potential Biomarker in Acute Cerebral Infarction Patients

Background: The study explores the expression and significance of miR-133 expression in peripheral blood of patients with acute cerebral infarction (ACI), so as to provide new evidence for the diagnosis and treatment of ACI. Methods: Serum levels of miR-133, interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), C-reactive protein (CRP) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were examined using RT-PCR and ELISA, respectively. Pearson's correlation assay was used to analyze the relationship between the level of serum miR-133 and inflammatory factors. Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the 10-year survival rate of ACI patients with different levels of miR-133 expression. Results: The level of serum miR-133 in the ACI group was significantly higher than that in healthy group. Meanwhile, the level of serum miR-133 in the large infarction group, middle infarction group, small infarction group, and lacunar infarction group was higher than in the healthy group. Moreover, the serum levels of miR-133 in patients with atherosclerotic thrombotic cerebral infarction (AT) and cardioembolic stroke (CE) were significantly higher than those in healthy subjects and small artery occlusive cerebral infarction (SAD) subjects. Serum levels of IL-6, IL-8, CRP and TNF-alpha in ACI group were significantly higher than those in healthy group. The correlation analysis showed that serum miR-133 was positively correlated with IL-6, IL-8, CRP, and TNF-alpha in ACI patients. The 10-year survival rate of the low-expression group was significantly higher than that of the high-expression group. Conclusions: Serum level of miR-133 may indicate the onset and progression of cerebral infarction and may be a potential biomarker for the diagnosis of ACI.