Expression and correlation of serum microRNA and vascular endothelial growth factor in elderly patients with vascular dementia

Chen Jianfei; Weng Wei; Chen Lingshan

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-7151.2024.01.006

Abstract：Objective To explore the expression levels and correlation of serum microRNA-17(miR-17),miR-34a and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)in elderly vascular dementia(VD).Methods The 35 elderly patients with VD and 35 patients with mild cognitive impairment(MCI)admitted in the Second Hospital of Jinhua City from June 2022 to May 2023 were selected and included in VD group and MCI group.Additionally,30 healthy physical examiners were selected as control group.The mini-mental state examination(MMSE)was used to score the subjects.Quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR)was used to detect serum levels of miR-17 and miR-34a in three groups,and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)was used to detect the level of VEGF.Pearson correlation coefficient and receiver operator characteristic(ROC)curve were used to analyze the correlation of above indicators in VD and their diagnostic value for VD.Results The MMSE scores and expression levels of serum miR-17 and VEGF in VD and MCI groups were lower than those in control group[MMSE score:8.85±3.68,23.03±2.95 vs.29.87±0.35;miR-17(copies/μg RNA):76355.85±34594.59,80764.66±46480.37 vs.168183.17±126325.72;VEGF(mmol/L):115.55±20.99,143.09±23.52 vs.173.32±24.13;all P＜0.05],and the MMSE score and expression levels of serum miR-17 and VEGF in VD group were lower than those in MCI group(all P＜0.05).The expression levels of miR-34a in control group,MCI group and VD group showed an upward trend,but the differences were not statistically significant.Pearson correlation analysis showed that MMSE score was negatively correlated with miR-34a and positively correlated with miR-17 and VEGF(r values were-0.028,0.232 and 0.684,P values were 0.786,0.020 and 0.000).The area under ROC curve(AUC)for diagnosing VD using miR-17,miR-34a and VEGF were 0.712,0.506 and 0.898,respectively,and 95%confidence interval(95%CI)were 0.589-0.836,0.385-0.626 and 0.839-0.956,respectively.The AUC for diagnosing VD using a combination detection was 0.930(95%CI was 0.882-0.977),which was significantly higher than that of single detection of each indicator(P＜0.05).Conclusions The expression levels of miR-17 and VEGF in the serum of elderly VD patients are downregulated,while the expression level of miR-34a is upregulated,which is closely related to the severity of VD.The combined detection of the three indicators is of great significance for the clinical diagnosis and evaluation of VD.