Expression level of serum microRNA-155 and its correlation with the balance of T helper cell 17/regulatory T cell in children with neonatal septicemia

Huang Qinglan; Tao Jie; Liu Fan; Bao Xuan; Yan Xiaoning; Yan Zheng

doi:10.3760/j.issn.1673-4777.2025.12.015

Abstract：Objective To study the expression level of serum microRNA(miR)-155 in children with neonatal septicemia,and to explore its correlation with the balance of T helper cell 17/regulatory T cell(Th17/Treg).Methods A total of 24 children with neonatal septicemia admitted to the Department of Neonatology,Fuzhou First General Hospital Affiliated with Fujian Medical University from January to December 2023 were selected as the sepsis group,and 22 healthy neonates delivered in the same hospital during the same period were selected as the control group.The general clinical data and laboratory test indicators of the two groups were collected and compared.The level of serum miR-155 was detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction,and the levels of Th17 and Treg in peripheral blood were detected by flow cytometry.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of serum miR-155 for neonatal sepsis,and the correlation between serum miR-155 and Th17,Treg and Th17/Treg ratio in peripheral blood was analyzed by Pearson method.Results The proportion of mothers with perinatal infection,peripheral white blood cell count,percentage of neutrophils,C-reactive protein,interleukin-6,procalcitonin,and blood lactic acid levels in the sepsis group were significantly higher than those in the control group(all P＜0.05).The 10 min Apgar score,peripheral blood total bilirubin,direct bilirubin and indirect bilirubin levels were significantly lower than those of the control group(all P＜0.05).The expression level of miR-155,Th17 level and Th17/Treg ratio of neonates in sepsis group were significantly higher than those in control group,while the peripheral blood Treg level was significantly lower than that in control group[(1.47±0.27)vs(1.00±0.35),(3.16±0.89)％vs(1.43±0.42)％,(15.36±4.54)vs(2.74±1.07),(0.21±0.09)％vs(0.58±0.18)％](all P＜0.001).The area under the curve value of serum miR-155 in the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis was 0.845.In the sepsis group,serum miR-155 was positively correlated with C-reactive protein,interleukin-6,procalcitonin,Th17 in peripheral blood and Th17/Treg ratio(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Serum miR-155 and the proportion of Th17/Treg cells in peripheral blood of children with neonatal septicemia are significantly increased,and there is a significant positive correlation between them,and they jointly promote the inflammatory response in peripheral blood of neonates with sepsis.