Evaluation of serum miR‐216a and miR‐375 as biomarkers in dogs with acute pancreatitis

BACKGROUND: Serum microRNAs have emerged as biomarkers of various diseases. Overexpression of serum miR‐216a and miR‐375 occurs in dogs with experimentally induced acute pancreatitis (AP). OBJECTIVES: To identify the possibility of using serum miR‐216a and miR‐375 as biomarkers for the diagnosis and evaluation of treatment response in dogs with naturally occurring AP. ANIMALS: Twenty‐one dogs with AP and 20 healthy dogs. METHODS: Cross‐sectional study. The relative expression of serum hsa‐miR‐216a‐5p, cfa‐miR‐216a, and cfa‐miR‐375 were analyzed using reverse transcription and real‐time PCR. RESULTS: A significant difference in the serum expression of cfa‐miR‐375 was found between dogs with AP (median [interquartile range] 3.59 [1.55‐24.52]‐fold) and healthy dogs (0.81 [0.54‐2.21]‐fold, P < .001), and no significant differences were observed in hsa‐miR‐216a‐5p and cfa‐miR‐216a (P > .05). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of serum cfa‐miR‐375 for differentiating between AP dogs and healthy dogs was 0.84 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.71‐0.96). The expressions of hsa‐miR‐216a‐5p and cfa‐miR‐375 were positively correlated with the concentrations of serum C‐reactive protein (r ( s ) = .46, r ( s ) = .48, respectively), but not with the serum specific canine pancreatic lipase. The expression of cfa‐miR‐375 was significantly less after treatment in dogs with AP (P = .02). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Serum cfa‐miR‐375 could be a potential biomarker for the diagnosis and evaluation of treatment response of AP in dogs. In addition, miR‐216a and miR‐375 could be associated with inflammatory processes in dogs with AP.