MiR-200c-3p expression may be associated with worsening of the clinical course of patients with COVID-19

Pimenta, Ruan; Viana, Nayara I.; dos Santos, Gabriel A.; Candido, Patrícia; Guimarães, Vanessa R.; Romão, Poliana; Silva, Iran A.; de Camargo, Juliana A.; Hatanaka, Diná M.; Queiroz, Paula G. S.; Teruya, Alexandre; Echenique, Leandro; Besen, Bruno A. M. P.; Leite, Katia R. M.; Srougi, Victor; Srougi, Miguel; Reis, Sabrina T.

COVID-19 represents a public health emergency, whose mechanism of which is not fully understood. It is speculated that microRNAs may play a crucial role in host cells after infection by SARS-CoV-2. Thus, our study aimed to analyze the expression of miR-200c-3p in saliva samples from patients with COVID-19. One handred eleven samples from patients with COVID-19 were divided into 4 groups. Group I: 39 patients negative for Covid-19; Group II: 37 positive and symptomatic patients, with no indication of hospitalization; Group III: 21 patients with respiratory disorders (hospitalized); Group IV: 14 patients with severe conditions (oxygen therapy). The expression levels of miR-200c-3p were determined using qPCR. We found greater expression of miR-200c-3p in patients in group IV (p<0.0001), and also verified that patients aged ≥42 years had a higher expression of this miR (p=0.013). Logistic regression analysis revealed that the expression of miR-200c-3p and systemic arterial hypertension are factors independently associated with patients in group IV (p<0.0001). Our results suggest that miR-200c-3p is a predictor of severity independent of COVID-19 risk factors, which could represent a way of screening patients affected by SARS-CoV-2.