Role of circulating microRNA-132 in allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis: A case-control study

Abstract

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is an allergic respiratory disease. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate the roles of miRNA-21 and miRNA132 as biomarkers in the diagnosis of ABPA.A total of 30 controls, 30 allergic asthmatic patients, 30 severe asthma with fungal sensitization (SAFS) patients, and 30 ABPA patients were included. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to quantify the level of miRNAs expression.The expression level of miRNA-21 was significantly higher in allergic asthmatic, SAFS, and ABPA patients in comparison with controls (p < 0.001). However, no significant difference was detected in the expression level of miRNA-21 among the different patient groups (p > 0.05). The ABPA patients had significantly higher levels of miRNA-132 expression compared to controls, allergic asthmatic patients, and SAFS patients (p < 0.001), but there was a non-significant difference between controls and allergic asthmatic patients (p = 0.09). At a cut-off of 1.52, the sensitivity of miRNA-132 expression was 93.3% and the specificity was 100% different ABPA from healthy controls. At a cut-off of 6.5, miRNA-132 expression was found to reliably differentiate between ABPA and SAFS, with a sensitivity of 86.7% and a specificity of 80%. In ABPA patients, miRNA-132 expression positively correlation with the levels of serum IL-5 (r = 0.91, p < 0.001).miRNA-132 has a role in ABPA detection and distinguishing ABPA from allergic asthma and SAFS. These preliminary data from case-control study need further studies to confirm its finding.