We investigated whether three common microRNA polymorphisms (miR-21T>C [rs1292037], miR-126G>A [rs4636297] and miR-605T>C [rs2043556]) were associated with ischemic stroke (IS) risk in a Chinese population. The study population comprised 592 ischemic stroke patients and 456 normal controls. The polymorphisms were measured using Snapshot SNP genotyping assays and confirmed by sequencing. Relative expressions of miR-21, miR-126 and miR-605 were measured by quantitative real-time PCR. We found that miR-126 gene rs4636297 polymorphism was associated with decreased ischemic stroke risk (GA vs. GG: AOR=0.64, adjust P=0.025; AA vs. GG: AOR=0.32, adjust P=0.007; dominant model: AOR=0.58, adjust P=0.004). MiR-21 gene rs1292037 and miR-605 gene rs2043556 polymorphisms were not associated with ischemic stroke risk. In addition, compared with normal controls, serum miR-126 level was significantly decreased in ischemic stroke patients, while the miR-21 level was significantly increased. Importantly, patients carrying rs4636297 GA/AA genotypes had higher serum miR-126 level (P<0.05). MiR-126 gene rs4636297 polymorphism and serum miR-126/-21 levels are associated with ischemic stroke risk. Our data indicates that miR-126 and miR-21 play roles in the development of ischemic stroke.
Keywords: association analysis; gene; ischemic stroke; microRNAs; single nucleotide polymorphisms.