Differential Circulating Levels of miR-92a in Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Aim: The aim of the present study was to analyze a panel of immune-related miRNAs found in the respiratory tract among patients with symptomatic COVID-19. Method: This is a cross-sectional analysis on the total levels of selected miRNAs assessed from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 33 male and female patients split according to a mild/moderate (n = 9) or a severe/critical phenotype (n = 24). Low molecular weight RNA was obtained the 10 miRNAs (miR-1-2, miR-10a, miR-92a, miR-100, miR-145, miR-146a, miR-155, miR-181a, miR-200a, miR-221) were quantified using specific TaqMan® RT-qPCR assays. Results: The main results indicate a negative correlation for miR-92a expression levels with oxygen saturation scores. In a direct comparison, there was a significant difference in concentrations of log-transformed levels of miR-92a (p=0.046) between groups, with higher values shown by the mild/moderate group. Conclusions: These findings revealed that the severity of COVID-19 is associated with differences in the expression of miR-92a, possibly due to an anti-inflammatory regimen that, despite being clinically useful, may yield this adverse outcome of oxygen deprivation.