Evaluation of diagnostic and prognostic miRNA expression profiles in thrombus material of ischemic stroke cases

Aim: In this study, it is aimed to compare the expression profiles in patient and control individuals by examining the expression levels of miR1244-2, miR-17-5p, miR-629, miR1295b-5p, miR20a-5p, miR-21, miR-335, miR-let7e. In this study, it is aimed to compare the expression profiles in patient and control individuals by examining the expression levels of miR1244-2, miR-17-5p, miR-629, miR1295b-5p, miR20a-5p, miR-21, miR-335, let7e. The aim is to determine miRNA status in patient serum and thrombus samples, to evaluate the prognostic/diagnostic significance of these miRNAs in the case group, and to identify miRNAs that can be used for non-invasive approaches and contribute to the literature. Method: In our study, serum samples were obtained simultaneously from 64 patients diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke, along with thrombus material obtained by mechanical thrombectomy as part of routine treatment. In addition, peripheral blood samples were collected from 64 healthy individuals who fulfilled the inclusion criteria as a control group, and serum was obtained. Following RNA isolation from the thrombus and serum samples, the expression levels of eight miRNAs were evaluated between the patient and control groups using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Results: Comparison of patient group serum samples with those of the control group revealed statistically significant differences in the expression levels of the eight miRNAs investigated. These miRNAs were identified as miR-1244-2 (p =0,001), miR-629 (p = 0,001), miR-21 (p =0,001), miR-1295b-5p (p = 0,001), miR-335 (p = 0,001), miR-20a-5p (p =0,001), miR-let-7e (p = 0,001), and miR-17-5p (p =0,002). In addition, comparison of serum and thrombus samples from the patient group revealed statistically significant differences in the expression levels of miR-1244-2 (p =0,001), miR-629 (p = 0,001), miR-1295b-5p (p =0,001), miR-21 (p = 0,001), miR-335 (p = 0,033), and miR-let-7e (p =0,001). Conclusion: The statistical analyses performed in comparing the groups in our study revealed differences in expression between the groups, suggesting that these miRNAs could be used as potential non-invasive biomarkers in the prognosis of acute ischemic stroke. Additionally, the evaluation of the sensitivity, specificity and AUC values of these three groups together revealed results that could contribute to the literature in terms of diagnosis.