A Meta-Analysis of the Association between Microrna-196A2 and Risk of Ischemic Stroke and Coronary Artery Disease in Asian Population

Object: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) that affect the sncRNA function and target gene expression to mediate the risk of certain diseases. The association between the miR-196a2 rs11614913 and ischemic stroke (IS) and coronary artery disease (CAD) is still conflicting and inconclusive. This meta-analysis aimed at analysing studies which have been done so far to get a more precise assessment of the association between the mutation and these two diseases. Methods: Electronic databases dated up to April 2018 were searched, retrieved and used. Revman 5.2 software and STATA version 12.0 were used for statistical analysis. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to identify any potential associations. Heterogeneity, publication bias and sensitivity analysis were conducted to measure the robustness of our findings. Results: The overall meta-analysis results showed that miR-196a2 rs11614913 T > C polymorphism was significantly associated with CAD risk in certain genetic models, as well as in subgroup analysis (CC versus TT, OR = .43, 95%CI = .39-.47, P < .00001). However, no significant association was detected between the miR-196a2 rs11614913 T > C and IS risk in all genetic models. Conclusions: Our study suggests that miR-196a2 rs11614913 T > C may contribute to CAD susceptibility but further well-designed studies with larger sample size and comprehensive data are needed to confirm our findings and provide a profound conclusion.