Circulating miRNAs as biomarkers for severe acute pancreatitis associated with acute lung injury

Figure 1 Circulating miRNA expression in patients with SAP with ALI and those with SAP without ALI. A and B: Differentially expressed miRNAs (P < 0.05) were analyzed by hierarchical clustering of the log² values of miRNA microarray signals. Red: Up-regulation; Green: Down-regulation; Black: No change. The legend on the right displays the miRNA represented in the corresponding row. The bar code on the top represents the color scale of the log² values. The heatmap shows 12 significantly expressed circulating miRNAs in patients with SAP with ALI and SAP without ALI using miRNA array data; C: Information and expression of 12 circulating miRNAs. ALI: Acute lung injury; miRNA: microRNA; SAP: Severe acute pancreatitis.

Figure 2 Differential expression of 12 circulating miRNAs were validated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. A: Validation of up-regulated expressed miRNAs. Hsa-miR-22-3p, hsa-miR-1260b, hsa-miR-762, hsa-miR-23b and hsa-miR-23a in patients with SAP with ALI were significantly up-regulated compared to patients with SAP without ALI; B: Validation of down-regulated expressed miRNAs. hsa-miR-550a*, hsa-miR-324-5p, hsa-miR-484, hsa-miR-331-3p, hsa-miR-140-3p, hsa-miR-342-3p and hsa-miR-150 were down-regulated in patients with SAP with ALI in comparison with patients with SAP without ALI. ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01. ALI: Acute lung injury; miRNA: microRNA; SAP: Severe acute pancreatitis.

Figure 3 Gene ontology analysis of genes. In BP terms, they were enriched in signal transduction and metabolic processes. In CC terms, they focused on cytoplasm, cell membranes and plasma membranes, and were enriched in protein binding and receptor activity terms in MF. In each ontology, the first at least 10 enriched terms are listed. BP: Biological process; CC: Cellular component; MF: Molecular function.

Figure 4 Wnt receptor signaling pathway and regulation of Rab GTPase activity involved in miRNA expression. A: Up-regulated miRNAs (has-miR-762, has-miR-1260b, has-miR-22-3p and has-miR-23b-3p) take part in regulation of the Wnt receptor signaling pathway. B: All down-regulated miRNAs (hsa-miR-550a*, hsa-miR-324-5p, hsa-miR-484, hsa-miR-331-3p, hsa-miR-140-3p, hsa-miR-342-3p and hsa-miR-150) were involved in regulating Rab GTPase activity. miRNA: microRNA.