Diagnostic value of cytokines and microRNAs as biomarkers of necrotizing enterocolitis in term newborns with congenital heart defects
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Newborns with ductus-dependent congenital heart defects (CHD) are at increased risk of developing necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a severe inflammatory bowel disease. Given that early symptoms of NEC are nonspecific, an urgent task is to find specific diagnostic biomarkers both for diagnosing NEC and for stratifying the risk of its development and implementing preventive measures. Cytokines and microRNAs are promising NEC biomarkers since they regulate various biological processes. The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic potential of the levels of 31 cytokines and three microRNAs as specific NEC biomarkers in blood plasma of newborns with CHD. The study included 38 term newborns with CHD who underwent cardiac surgery on the 8th (6-12) day of life, ten of whom developed NEC postoperatively. Cytokine levels in plasma samples from 28 newborns without NEC and 10 newborns with NEC were measured using the MILLIPLEX Human Cytokine/Chemokine/Growth Factor Panel A kit (MilliporeSigma, USA) with a MAGPIX instrument (Luminex, USA). Total RNA was isolated from plasma samples of 14 babies without NEC, and 10 newborns with NEC, using TRIzol LS reagent (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA) with external synthetic control cel-miR-39-3p for subsequent data normalization. Expression levels of microRNA-155-5p, microRNA-221-3p, and microRNA-451a were measured using TaqMan MicroRNA Reverse Transcription Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA) and TaqMan MicroRNA Assays (Life Technologies, USA). In newborns with NEC, the levels of IL-8 and M-CSF were 1.6 (p = 0.037) and 12.6 (p = 0.006) times higher, respectively, than in newborns without NEC. The relative expression of miR-451a was 5 times lower in newborns with NEC than in newborns without NEC. No significant differences were found for the levels of other analyzed cytokines and microRNAs. The model including three biomarkers (miR-451a, IL-8 and M-CSF) has shown a high diagnostic potential (AUC = 0.901 with a sensitivity of 85.7% and a specificity of 84.6%) for the diagnosis of NEC in routine clinical practice.
Source: Russian Journal of Immunology
Authors: E. K. Zaikova, A. V. Kaplina, N. A. Petrova, Tatiana M. Pervunina, A. A. Kostareva, O. V. Kalinina
Language: English
Topic: Infant Nutrition and Health
Subfield: Nutrition and Dietetics
Field: Nursing
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4414327360