Circulating miR-145 is associated with plasma high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in acute ischemic stroke patients

Stroke is a major cerebrovascular disease threatening human health and life with high morbidity, disability and mortality. We aimed to find effective biomarkers for the early diagnosis on stroke. Nine previously reported stroke-associated miRNAs (miR-21, miR-23a, miR-29b, miR-124, miR-145, miR-210, miR-221, miR-223 and miR-483-5p) were measured by quantitative real time-PCR, and plasma high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and serum interleukin 6 (IL-6), the pro-inflammation markers in brain injury, were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 146 acute ischemic stroke patients and 96 healthy blood donors. We found that serum miR-145 was significantly increased within 24 h after stroke onset and serum miR-23a and miR-221 were decreased in patients. Moreover, serum miR-145 was strong positively correlated with plasma hs-CRP and moderate positively correlated with serum IL-6. Meanwhile, serum miR-23a and miR-221 were moderate negatively correlated with plasma hs-CRP but not serum IL-6. Importantly, the combination of hs-CRP and serum miR-145 gained a better sensitivity/spectivity for prediction of acute ischemia stroke (area under receiver operating characteristic curve from 0.794 to 0.896). Conclusively, our preliminary findings indicate that serum miR-145 upregulated in acute ischemic stroke might be a new biomarker for acute ischemia stroke evaluation.