MicroRNA-155 as a potential plasma non-invasive biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of abdominal aortic aneurysm

Objective: To study the relationships of microRNA-155 (miR-155) expression with the clinicopathological features and prognosis in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Methods: One hundred and sixteen cases with AAA were selected for the case group, and one hundred and thirty elderly individuals who had undergone physical examination during the same period at The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University were selected for the control group. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of miR-155. Results: The plasma miR-155 expression in the case group increased significantly compared to that in the control group (P < 0.05). According to the AAA classification, the miR-155 expression in patients with type I was higher than that in type IIA; the expression in type I and IIA was higher than that in type IIB; and the expression in type I and IIA was higher than that in type IIC (all P < 0.05). The miR-155 expression was positively related to age and tumor size (r = 0.643, P < 0.001 and r = 0.240, P = 0.010, respectively). Also, the miR-155 expression increased in patients with smoking history, hypertension, and renal dysfunction. The higher miR-155 expression after treatment indicated an increased incidence of complication. Conclusion: These findings suggested that the miR-155 expression is related to the clinicopathological features and prognosis of AAA, indicating that miR155 serves as a potential plasma non-invasive biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of AAA.