The diagnostic and prognostic role of MiRNA 15b and MiRNA 378a in neonatal sepsis

Background and objectives: Sepsis is one of the major factors for both term and preterm babies with morbidity and mortality. On the basis of recent clinical trials, altered circulating micro-RNAs (miRNAs) may serve as possible biomarkers in sepsis for diagnosis and prognosis. The aim of this research is to assess the diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of miRNA 15b and miRNA 378a for neonatal sepsis. Subjects & methods: This study was carried out 25 neonates with sepsis admitted to neonatal ICU of Menoufia University Hospital and 25 healthy controls from February 2019 to May 2020. The relative quantification (RQ) of miRNA-15b and miRNA-378a expression was assessed using real time PCR technique. Results: Our results demonstrated that patients with sepsis had significantly higher level of MiRNA-15b than the healthy volunteers. On the other hand, patients with sepsis had significantly lower level of MiRNA-378a than the healthy volunteers. The ROC curve showed that the serum MiRNA-15b was a significant discriminator of sepsis with a combined sensitivity and specificity of 76% and 88% with cutoff point of 3.24. In addition, serum MiRNA-378a was a significant discriminator of sepsis with a combined sensitivity and specificity of 60% and 88% with cutoff point of 0.361. The miRNA-15b expression significantly correlated positive with respiratory rate (r=0.415,p=0.039), WBCs (r=0.408, p=0.043), and CRP (r=0.407, p=0.043). Likewise, miRNA-378a expression significantly correlated negative with respiratory rate (r=-0.415p=0.024), WBCs (r=-0.442, p=0.027), and CRP (r=0.459, p=0.021). Conclusion: Both MiRNA 15b and 378a are promising biomarker for neonatal sepsis.