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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Physiol.
Sec. Vascular Physiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1403598

Circulating MicroRNAs as Potential Biomarkers for Cerebral Collateral Circulation in Symptomatic Carotid Stenosis

Provisionally accepted
Wenwen Liang Wenwen Liang 1Bingcang Huang Bingcang Huang 1Qin Shi Qin Shi 2Xuelian Yang Xuelian Yang 3Hanwen Zhang Hanwen Zhang 3Wei Chen Wei Chen 1*
  • 1 Department of Radiology, Shanghai Pudong New Area Gongli Hospital, Shanghai, China
  • 2 Shanghai Pudong New Area Public Interest Hospital, Pudong, China
  • 3 Department of Neurology, Shanghai Pudong New Area Gongli Hospital, Shanghai, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Cerebral collateral circulation (CCC) considerably improves the prognosis of patients with symptomatic carotid stenosis (SCS). This study evaluated the diagnostic value of plasma microRNAs (miRNAs) in determining CCC status in patients with SCS. Methods: This single-center observational study enrolled patients with ≥50% carotid artery stenosis diagnosed using Doppler ultrasound. CCC was assessed using cerebrovascular digital subtraction angiography (DSA). Quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction was used to determine the expression levels of plasma miRNAs. A multivariate logistic regression model and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used to analyze the diagnostic value of plasma miRNA expression in determining CCC status. Results: A total of 43 patients were enrolled (28 with CCC and 15 without CCC). The plasma expression levels of miR-126-3p, miR-132-3p, and miR-210-3p were significantly higher and those of miR-16-3p and miR-92-3p were significantly lower in patients with CCC. After adjusting for age, gender, drinking history, comorbidities and degree of SCS, miR-92a-3p, miR-126-3p, miR-132-3p, and miR-210-3p were found to be significantly associated with CCC establishment (p < 0.05). ROC curve analysis indicated a high diagnostic value of these miRNAs in determining CCC status (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.918–0.965), with miR-126-3p exhibiting the highest predictive performance (AUC: 0.965). Subgroup analysis revealed that patients with CCC who had 50%–70% stenosis showed significantly higher expression level of miR-126-3p, whereas those with CCC who had 70%–99% stenosis showed significantly higher expression levels of miR-126-3p, miR-132-3p, and miR-210-3p as well as significantly lower expression levels of miR-15a-3p, miR-16-3p, and miR-92a-3p. Conclusions: The results indicate that these six plasma miRNAs have promising diagnostic value in determining CCC status in varying degrees of SCS. These miRNAs can serve as biomarkers for CCC status following SCS, with miR-126-3p showing the strongest positive correlation.

    Keywords: symptomatic carotid stenosis, cerebral collateral circulation, MicroRNAs, biomarkers, potential biomarkers

    Received: 20 May 2024; Accepted: 03 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Liang, Huang, Shi, Yang, Zhang and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Wei Chen, Department of Radiology, Shanghai Pudong New Area Gongli Hospital, Shanghai, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.