Diagnostic and prognostic value of deregulated miR-493-5p in children with severe pneumonia.

Background

Mounting research has proven that microRNAs (miRNAs) exert critical regulatory functions in the pathological progression of pediatric pneumonia.

Aims

To investigate the expression levels and clinical significance of miR-493-5p in children with severe pneumonia.

Methods

A total of 125 children diagnosed with severe pneumonia, 100 children with mild pneumonia, and 100 healthy children as normal controls were enrolled in this study. RT-qPCR was adopted to quantify serum miR-493-5p expression levels. ROC curves were plotted to assess its diagnostic efficiency; Kaplan-Meier survival analysis combined with Log-rank test evaluated 28-day prognostic value. LPS-stimulated MRC-5 human lung fibroblast cell model was constructed for in vitro functional experiments to uncover the underlying molecular mechanism of miR-493-5p.

Results

Serum miR-493-5p expression was markedly elevated in children with severe pneumonia. ROC analysis validated that serum miR-493-5p possessed satisfactory accuracy for distinguishing severe pneumonia from mild cases. miR-493-5p may target Interferon Regulatory Factor 1 (IRF1) to affect the functions and inflammatory responses of cells in the pneumonia model.

Conclusions

Serum miR-493-5p level has significant diagnostic and prognostic value in children with severe pneumonia.