Plasma miR-216a as a potential marker of pancreatic injury in a rat model of acute pancreatitis.
OBJECTIVE
To study the potential value and specificity of plasma miR-216a as a marker for pancreatic injury.


METHODS
Two rat models were applied in this article: L-arginine-induced acute pancreatitis was used as one model to explore the potential value of plasma miR-216a for detection of pancreatic injury; nonlethal sepsis induced in rats by single puncture cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) was used as the other model to evaluate the specificity of plasma miR-216a compared with two commonly used markers (amylase and lipase) for acute pancreatitis. Plasmas were sampled from rats at indicated time points and total RNA was isolated. Real-Time Quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was used to quantify miR-216a in plasmas.


RESULTS
In the acute pancreatitis model, among five time points at which plasmas were sampled, miR-216a concentrations were significantly elevated 24 h after arginine administration and remained significantly increased until 48 h after operation (compared with 0 h time point, P < 0.01, Kruskal-Wallis Test). In the CLP model, plasma amylase and lipase, two commonly used biomarkers for acute pancreatitis, were significantly elevated 24 h after operation (compared with 0 h time point, P < 0.01 and 0.05 respectively, Pairwise Bonferroni corrected t-tests), while miR-216a remained undetectable among four tested time points.


CONCLUSIONS
Our article showed for the first time that plasma miR-216a might serve as a candidate marker of pancreatic injury with novel specificity.
Kong
Xiang-Yu
XY
Department of Gastroenterology, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
Du
Yi-Qi
YQ
Li
Lei
L
Liu
Jian-Qiang
JQ
Wang
Guo-Kun
GK
Zhu
Jia-Qi
JQ
Man
Xiao-Hua
XH
Gong
Yan-Fang
YF
Xiao
Li-Ning
LN
Zheng
Yong-Zhi
YZ
Deng
Shang-Xin
SX
Gu
Jun-Jun
JJ
Li
Zhao-Shen
ZS
D000681:Amylases / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D001120:Arginine / Q000494:pharmacology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D008049:Lipase / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood*; D010179:Pancreas / Q000187:drug effects / Q000293:injuries*; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000097:blood* / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000235:genetics*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D015415:Biomarkers; D035683:MicroRNAs; D001120:Arginine; D008049:Lipase; D000681:Amylases