Correlation between MicroRNA-155 Expression and Some Inflammatory Biomarkers of Covid-19 Infection

Abstract

Coronavirus disease is still an interesting topic of study, although the influence of the pandemic has been limited. MicroRNA-155, or miR-155, is a small RNA molecule that plays an important role during inflammation in many diseases at epigenetic levels. So, we aim, in this study, to investigate the expression of microRNA-155 in coronavirus disease 2019 patients and the healthy control groups and determine the relationship of miR-155 with some disease biomarkers (CRP, D-dimer, and ferritin levels). Two hundred thirty five (235) samples were selected from 120 patients with covid-19 and 115 apparently healthy individuals of different sexes and ages. All the patients are severe cases of covid-19. MicroRNA-155 expression was performed using the real-time PCR technique (RT-PCR). CRP was determined by immunofluorescence assay, D-dimer was calculated using enzyme-linked fluorescent assay, and ferritin levels were estimated depending on the immunoturbidimetric assay. After statistical analysis was done, results showed a highly significant overexpression of miR-155 in patients. It is about twofold and half higher in patients than in healthy control individuals. Also, C-reactive protein, D-dimer, and ferritin show elevated scores in covid-19 patients. All the parameters studied in this research could be considered biomarkers for the critical cases of the disease. miR-155 can be invested in as a promising therapeutic agent because this inflammatory microRNA is correlated with the severity of the disease. Further investigations about the exact role of microRNA-155 during covid-19 should be done.