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Original Article

Role of miRNA-146a and miRNA-125b in Helicobacter pylori

Nashwa Mohamed¹, Ola Behairy¹, Manal EL-Defrawy¹, Mona Elsayed²  , Naglaa Alhusseini³

¹Pediatrics Department, Faculty of Medicine, Benha University, Al-Qalyubia, Egypt, Benha, Egypt
²Pediatrics Department, Shibin El-Qanater Hospital, Al-Qalyubia, Egypt, Benha, Egypt
³Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty of Medicine, Benha University, Al-Qalyubia, Egypt , Benha, Egypt

Correspondence Mona Elsayed ,Email: mona.mahmoud27687@gmail.com

Received: January 21, 2025; Revised: February 25, 2025   Accepted: March 18, 2025.

Abstract

Background
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is a common gastrointestinal pathogen associated with gastritis and peptic ulcers. The early detection of H. pylori–related gastritis is crucial to its effective management, especially in pediatric patients with dyspepsia.
Purpose
This study aimed to assess the expression of miRNA-146a and miRNA-125b as potential indicators of H. pylori–associated gastritis in children.
Methods
This cross-sectional study included 70 H. pylori–positive children and 50 H. pylori–negative controls aged ≤ 18 years with recurrent abdominal pain who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. The miRNA-146a and miRNA-125b expression levels in gastric biopsies were determined using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.
Results
H. pylori–positive children had significantly higher levels of miRNA-146a than H. pylori–negative children across all endoscopic findings (range, 2.2–2.7 vs. 1.07–1.2; p<0.001) and histologic grades of gastritis (range, 2.0–2.4 vs. 1.2–1.3; p<0.001). Conversely, the H. pylori–positive group showed consistently lower miRNA-125b levels across all parameters (range, 0.3–0.8 vs. 0.4–0.9; p<0.001). Both miRNAs differentiated H. pylori status with an area under the curve of >0.95.
Conclusion
The altered expression of miRNA-146a and miRNA-125b in gastric biopsies of H. pylori–positive children suggests their potential role as molecular markers of H. pylori–associated gastritis.

Keywords :Gastritis, Helicobacter pylori, MiRNA-146a, MiRNA-125b