Evaluation of miR-146a Expression Levels in Archived Serum Samples for the Diagnosis/Follow-up of Patients with Cystic Echinococcosis.

OpenAlex İngilizce

Objective: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonotic disease that causes fluid-filled cysts in internal organs and is a major public health problem worldwide. The lack of standardized methods for the diagnosis/follow-up of CE disease necessitates the development of new non-invasive diagnostic tools, such as the determination of changes in the expression levels of circulating microRNAs (miRNA). In this study, we aimed to investigate the presence of miR-146a in archived serum samples of CE patients for the first time and to evaluate its potential role in the diagnosis and follow-up of CE over a three-year period. Methods: This study included archived serum samples from 39 CE patients, 56 follow-up samples from 14 CE patients, and 3 healthy controls, and expression levels of miR-146a were evaluated in each group using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Due to the small and unbalanced control group, bootstrapped confidence intervals were used; time-dependent changes in follow-up patients were analyzed using a linear mixed-effects model and Welch's F test to address variance heterogeneity. Results: gene in follow-up serum samples significantly decreased in the third year post-surgery compared to follow-up blood samples taken in previous years (p<0.05). Conclusion: According to the obtained results, it was concluded that miR-146a can be recommended as a diagnostic biomarker in the diagnosis and follow-up of CE, and archived materials of CE patients can be utilized in new biomarker research.