Expression of MicroRNA-155 in Patients with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Coronavirus Disease 2019, or Both: A Cross-Sectional Study

• Published in: Iranian journal of medical sciences Vol. 48; no. 1; pp. 26 - 34
• Main Authors: Mahdavi Anari, Seyed Rasool, Kheirkhah, Babak, Amini, Kumarss, Roozafzai, Farzin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Iran Shiraz University of Medical Sciences 01-01-2023
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis; Care and treatment; Casualties; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - genetics; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cytokines; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genetic transcription; Health aspects; Humans; Inflammation; Iran - epidemiology; Lymphoma; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse - diagnosis; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse - genetics; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse - pathology; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin - complications; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin - genetics; MicroRNA; MicroRNAs; MicroRNAs - genetics; non-hodgkin; Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas; polymerase chain reaction; Iran; COVID-19; Polymerase chain reaction; Non-Hodgkin; Inflammation; Lymphoma; MicroRNAs
• ISSN: 0253-0716; 1735-3688
• DOI: 10.30476/IJMS.2022.91669.2282

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is the eleventh leading cause of cancer-related death in the world. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common type of NHL. Up to winter 2021-2022, the death toll caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has exceeded 5.6 million worldwide. Possible molecular mechanisms involved in the systemic inflammation, and cytokine storm in COVID-19 patients are still not fully understood. MicroRNA-155 (miR-155) plays a role in the post-transcriptional gene regulation of hematopoiesis, oncogenesis, and inflammation. The present study aimed to evaluate the expression of miR-155 in patients with DLBCL and/or COVID-19.
A cross-sectional study was conducted from July to December 2020 in Tehran (Iran) to evaluate the expression of miR-155 in adult patients diagnosed with DLBCL and/or COVID-19. The real-time polymerase chain reaction technique was used to evaluate the expression of miR-155 in the sera of 92 adults who were either healthy or suffering from DLBCL and/or COVID-19. Relative quantification of gene expression was calculated in terms of cycle threshold (Ct) value. Data were analyzed using SPSS software, and P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
The expression of miR-155 was not associated with the sex or age of the participants. In comparison with healthy individuals (-ΔCt -1.92±0.25), the expression of miR-155 increased in patients with COVID-19 (1.95±0.14), DLBCL (2.25±0.16), or both (4.33±0.65).
The expression of miR-155 increased in patients with DLBCL and/or COVID-19.