Plasma miR‐125a and miR‐125b in sepsis: Correlation with disease risk, inflammation, severity, and prognosis

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the predictive value of microRNA (miR)‐125a and miR‐125b for sepsis risk, and their correlations with inflammation, disease severity, and 28‐day mortality in sepsis patients. METHODS: Totally, 150 sepsis patients and 150 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled. Plasma samples were separated from blood samples obtained from sepsis patients and HCs to detect miR‐125a and miR‐125b expressions by real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Besides, the 28‐day mortality of sepsis patients was assessed. MiR‐125a and miR‐125b expressions were elevated in sepsis patients compared with HCs, and further receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis displayed that miR‐125a (area under the curve (AUC): 0.749, 95% CI: 0.695‐0.803) and miR‐125b (AUC: 0.839, 95% CI: 0.795‐0.882) could predict sepsis risk. As for inflammation, no correlation of miR‐125a with C‐reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), interleukin (IL)‐6, IL‐17, and IL‐23 was observed in sepsis patients, while miR‐125b was positively associated with CRP, TNF‐α, IL‐6, IL‐17, and IL‐23. Regarding disease severity, miR‐125a and miR‐125b were positively correlated with acute physiology and chronic health care evaluation II and sequential organ failure assessment score in sepsis patients. Besides, ROC curve analysis exhibited that miR‐125a failed to predict 28‐day mortality risk (AUC: 0.588, 95% CI: 0.491‐0.685) in sepsis patients, while miR‐125b had a potential value in predicting elevated 28‐day mortality risk (AUC: 0.699, 95% CI: 0.603‐0.795). CONCLUSION: Both miR‐125a and miR‐125b predict sepsis risk, while only miR‐125b exhibits the potency for disease management and prognosis prediction in sepsis patients.