Circulating miR-126 as a Potential Non-invasive Biomarker for Intracranial Aneurysmal Rupture: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Aim: Intracranial aneurysms (IAs) are characterized by abnormal dilation and thinning of the cerebral vessels wall, leading to rupture and life-threatening aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) condition. This dictates the need to find new biomarkers that predict the presence of IAs and the risk of their rupture. The aim of this study was to measure circulating miR-126 at various time points post-aSAH to identify the timing of peak levels. Methods: Plasma samples from 62 patients with unruptured IAs (UIAs), 80 patients with aSAH at various time points (1, 3, 7, and 14 days post-event), and 47 healthy control were collected and subjected to qRT-PCR analyses for the expression levels of circulating miR-126. ROC curve and AUC were used to evaluate the diagnostic value of circulating miR-126. Results: The expression levels of circulating miR-126 were increased in patients with UIAs than in the healthy control. Furthermore, the expression levels of circulating miR-126 rose substantially from day 1 to day 7, but with a moderate decrease from day 7 to day 14 in plasma of patients with aSAH. The peak was observed on day 7. The AUC for miR-126 was 0.75, 0.75, 0.82, 0.87, and 0.79, respectively, and demonstrated that circulating miR-126 displayed considerable accuracy in discriminating plasma of patients with UIAs and patients after aSAH at various time points from a healthy control. Conclusion: Our results indicated that circulating miR-126 in plasma samples could be served as a potential non-invasive biomarker in IAs detection and prevention IAs with a high risk of rupture.