Background: Pulmonary embolism (PE) a consequence of hypercoagulability status associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and worsens its course. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been linked to PE in COPD settings. We aimed to measure expression levels of miRNAs145 and 126 in COPD patients with and without PE.
Methods: Herein, miRNA (145 and 126) expression levels were measured in 250 COPD patients with PE by quan-titative real-time PCR, and their data were compared with 300 COPD patients without PE.
Results: Our results showed that miRNA-145 expression was downregulated in COPD patients with PE compared to those without PE. The reverse was observed in miRNA-126 expression that was higher in COPD patients with PE than in those without PE. miRNA-145 correlated positively with FEV1/FVC and correlated negatively with D-dimer in all patients regardless of the presence of PE. In addition, miRNA-126 positively correlated with D-dimer and negatively correlated with FEV1/FVC in all studied COPD patients.
Conclusions: Lower levels of miRNA-145 and higher levels of miRNA-126 associated with worse diagnosis PE in patients with COPD. Extensive studies are mandated to bring a better understanding of the role of these miRNAs in the mechanism of thrombosis in COPD patients.