Background: Atherosclerosis (AS) is an inflammatory disease linked to vascular events, with dysregulation of microRNA (miR)-125b, contributing to cardiovascular disease pathogenesis. Moreover, there is evidence of the involvement of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) in AS. This study aimed to survey the expression levels of miR-125b, STAT3, and SIRT6 in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of AS patients and controls, and to find their correlations with biochemical parameters and risk factors.
Methods: This study included blood samples from 45 controls and 45 AS patients, with PBMCs isolated using Ficoll solution. Expression levels of miR-125b, STAT3, and SIRT6 were determined via quantitative Real Time-PCR.
Results: The findings revealed a significant increase in miR-125b levels in patients compared to controls (P = 0.017). However, alterations in STAT3 and SIRT6 expression were not significant (P> 0.05). There was no substantial relationship between miR-125b and STAT3 (P = 0.522) or SIRT6 (P = 0.88). miR-125b showed a significant relationship with atherogenic indexes and creatinine (P<0.05), while the association of SIRT6 with HDL and creatinine was significant (P<0.05). STAT3 exhibited high diagnostic power for identifying individuals at risk of heart disease and hypertension (P<0.05).
Conclusion: STAT3 can serve as a valuable biomarker for detecting AS and AS-related risk factors. miR-125b and SIRT6 may be associated with AS lipid metabolism. However, further studies with larger sample sizes are recommended to mechanistically elucidate the association of these genes.
Keywords: Atherosclerosis; Leukocyte; SIRT6; STAT3; microRNA-125b.