Expression of mir-221, mir-29a, mir-155 and mir-146a in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell (PBMC) in HIV-1 Infected Patients.

Abstract

In patients infected by HIV-1, some cellular biomarkers such as microRNAs have an important function in the suppression or progression of the disease. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the expression of mir-221, mir-29a, mir-155, and mir-146a in HIV-1 infected patients. The miRNAs of 60 HIV-1 infected patients (sample group) and 20 healthy controls (normal group) were extracted from their peripheral mononuclear cells. We used TaqMan-based Real-- time PCR for evaluation of expression mir-155, mir-221, mir-29a and mir-146a by the comparative method. To evaluate differences among the data, one-way ANOVA was used. The expression of mir-155 and mir-146a in HIV-1 patients (sample group) was down-regulated in comparison with healthy controls (normal group) with a confidence value (p <0.001). In addition, in the sample group, the expression of mir-221 was downregulated compared to the normal group (p <0.001). There was no significant difference in expression mi-29a in the sample and control group. In the sample group, mir-221 had a low expression, and mir-29a had a high expression, respectively. According to the results of the current study and comparative studies, it seems that the microRNA has an important role in the progression or suppression of HIV-1 infection. However, the data showed that besides other cellular and viral factor, these miRNAs could be used as a biomarker. However, the miRNAs field experts are in general agreement that more investigation is needed to use miRNAs as a biomarker in HIV.