Analysis of inflammation-related microRNA levels beforeand after treatment with mesalazin in patients withulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease of unknown etiology that involves the colon from the rectum to the proximal without leaving any intact part, shows superficial mucosal involvement, progresses with remission and exacerbations, and also affects systems other than the digestive system. MicroRNA (miRNA) molecules are small non-coding RNA molecules; It regulates normal biological functions such as cell differentiation, proliferation, metabolism and apoptosis. It has been determined that changes in microRNA expression level play an important role in the etiopathogenesis of many diseases associated with cancer, viral diseases, cardiovascular diseases and metabolic inflammation. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate whether the expression levels of miR-744-3p, miR-320a and miR-17-5p associated with inflammation can be used as potential biomarkers in UC and their relationship with the response to mesalazine treatment. For this purpose, 20 patients newly diagnosed with UC and 20 age/sex matched healthy volunteers were included in the study. Peripheral blood samples were taken before and 3 months after treatment with mesalazine in the patient group, and at the time of admission in the healthy control group. MicroRNA expression levels were analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) method and results were evaluated statistically between groups. According to the results, when the miRNA744-3p, miRNA-320a and miRNA17-5p gene expression levels of the patient group before and after treatment with mesalazine were compared with the control group, no statistically significant difference was found (p>0.05). In addition, no statistically significant difference was found between the miRNA expression levels of the patient group before and after treatment (p>0.05). In conclusion, the findings of our study show that inflammation-related miRNA744-3p, miRNA-320a and miRNA17-5p are not specific biomarkers for UC disease, there is no difference in these miRNA levels before and after treatment with mesalazine, therefore these miRNAs are not associated with mesalazine treatment response. Studies with larger patient groups are needed to confirm our results.