ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: MicroRNAs, or miRNAs, with regulatory performance in inflammatory responses and infection are the prevalent manifestations of severe Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This study aimed to evaluate whether PBMC miRNAs are diagnostic biomarkers to screen the ICU COVID-19 and diabetic-COVID-19 subjects. METHODS: Candidate miRNAs were selected through previous studies, and then the PBMC levels of selected miRNAs (miR-28, miR-31, miR-34a, and miR-181a) were measured via quantitative reverse transcription PCR. The diagnostic value of miRNAs was determined by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The bioinformatics analysis was utilized to predict the DEMs genes and relevant bio-functions. RESULTS: The COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU had significantly greater levels of selected miRNAs compared to non-hospitalized COVID-19 and healthy people. Besides, the mean miR-28 and miR-34a expression levels in the diabetic-COVID-19 group were upregulated considerably when compared with the non-diabetic COVID-19 group. ROC analyses demonstrated the role of miR-28, -miR-34a, and -181a as new biomarkers to discriminate the non-hospitalized COVID-19 group from the COVID-19 patients admitted to ICU samples, and also miR-34a can probably act as a useful biomarker for screening diabetic COVID-19 patients. Using bioinformatics analyses, we found the performance of target transcripts in many bio-processes and diverse metabolic routes such as regulating multiple inflammatory parameters. DISCUSSION: The difference in miRNA expression patterns between the studied groups suggested that miR-28, miR-34a, and miR181a could be helpful as potent biomarkers for diagnosing and controlling COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: In December 2019, in Wuhan, China, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was emerged due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). It seems that children and neonates, similar to adult and elderly individuals, are at risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, adequate data are not available about neonates infected with SARS-CoV-2. METHODS: This study evaluated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in neonates born to mothers or relatives with COVID-19. This cross-sectional study was performed on 25,044 consecutive Iranian participants in Tehran, Iran, from January 2020 to August 2020. Viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) was extracted from 500 µl of the oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal specimens of the participants. The genomic RNA of SARS-CoV-2 was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. RESULTS: Out of all participants, 98 (0.40%) cases were neonates born to mothers or relatives with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Therefore, the current study was performed on these neonates. Out of 98 studied neonates, 6 (6.1%) cases had positive PCR results for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Moreover, among 98 studied neonates' mothers, 25 (25.5%) cases had positive PCR results for SARS-CoV-2 infection. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study demonstrated that the rate of COVID-19 in neonates born to mothers or relatives with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Iranian population is about 6.1%.