miRNA expression in tracheal aspirates in mild/moderate and severe BPD

Extreme preterm infants are a growing population in neonatal intensive care units who carry a high mortality and morbidity. Multiple factors play a role in preterm birth, resulting in major impact on organogenesis leading to complications including bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). The goal of this study was to identify biomarker signatures associated with BPD severity. We analyzed profiles in tracheal aspirates (TAs) from 25 extremely preterm infants receiving invasive mechanical ventilation. Eight infants were diagnosed with mild/moderate BPD, and 17 were diagnosed with severe BPD, according to the NHLBI consensus conference classification . We found specific miRNA signatures in TAs that may serve as biomarkers for BPD severity. We extracted RNA from 0.5 mL of tracheal aspirates from premature neonates with BPD using the Plasma/Serum RNA Purification Kit. The expression of 1,066 human miRNAs was quantified using the Human miRNome miScript® miRNA PCR Array (QIAGEN, MIHS-3216Z). Results (Ct values) were normalized to global means, and fold changes were calculated using the 2-ΔΔCT method. mild/moderate BPD: 5,17,25,68,79,82,85,97 severe BPD: 3,11,12,24,26,33,34,37,42,49,51,67,74,80,91,95,100