Elevated expressions of serum miR-15a, miR-16, and miR-17-5p are associated with acute ischemic stroke

Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified as potential biomarkers in the diagnosis and prognosis of multiple human diseases including AIS. In this study, serum expression levels of miR-15a, miR-16, and miR-17-5p were detected in AIS patients (n = 106) and healthy controls (n = 120) using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Statistical analyses were performed to investigate the associations between miRNA levels and AIS risk. The serum expression levels of miR-15a, miR-16, and miR-17-5p increased by 8.3 fold (P = 0.0104), 42 fold (P < 0.0001), and 9.9 fold (P = 0.0002) in AIS patients compared to controls, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated that serum miR-17-5p level was a significant and independent predictor for determining the presence of AIS. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed areas under the curves (AUCs) of 0.698 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.559-0.837, P = 0.01), 0.82 (95% CI: 0.71-0.931, P < 0.001), and 0.784 (95% CI: 0.666-0.903, P < 0.001) for miR-15a, miR-16, and miR-17-5p, respectively, while the AUC increased to 0.845 (95% CI: 0.74-0.949, P < 0.001) for the combination of these three micoRNAs. Our findings indicate that elevated serum expression of miR-15a, miR-16, and miR-17-5p is strongly associated with AIS and that the combination of these three microRNAs may be a promising serum biomarker for AIS.