Correlation of microRNA-125a/b with acute respiratory distress syndrome risk and prognosis in sepsis patients.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to explore the association of microRNA (miR)-125a and miR-125b with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) risk and to investigate their correlation with clinical characteristics and prognosis in sepsis patients. METHODS: Totally 150 sepsis patients admitted to our hospital were consecutively enrolled and another 150 healthy subjects were enrolled as healthy controls (HCs). Their blood samples were collected for miR-125a and miR-125b detection by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Besides, ARDS occurrence and 28-day mortality were documented in all sepsis patients. RESULTS: MiR-125a and miR-125b relative expressions were increased in ARDS-sepsis patients/non-ARDS-sepsis patients compared with HCs, while only miR-125b but not miR-125a was elevated in ARDS-sepsis patients compared with non-ARDS-sepsis patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve presented that miR-125a (AUC: 0.650, 95%CI: 0.549-0.750) and miR-125b (AUC: 0.739, 95%CI: 0.653-0.823) could differentiate ARDS-sepsis patients from non-ARDS-sepsis patients, and miR-125b was of increased predictive value compared with miR-125a numerically. In sepsis patients, miR-125a relative expression was positively associated with serum creatinine (Scr), chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II score, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, and miR-125b was positively associated with Scr, C-reactive protein (CRP), APACHE II score, SOFA score, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. All sepsis patients were categorized into survivors and deaths according to 28-day mortality, and miR-125b but not miR-125a was upregulated in deaths compared with survivors. CONCLUSION: Both of miR-125a and miR-125b predict ARDS risk, while only miR-125b is of value in prognosis prediction in sepsis patients.