The Role of miR-21 on the Expression of β2-Microglobulin in Steroid-resistant Nephrotic Syndrome Children

Nephrotic syndrome (NS) in children has some mysterious prognosis in the perspective of its therapeutic response. This study aims to determine the role of miR-21 in β-2 microglobulin (B2M) expression among SRNS children. The open-prospective cohort study was conducted at Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Indonesia. A total of 24 children (age 1–18 years) with NS were enrolled in this study. Meanwhile, blood samples were collected prior to any treatment. The whole blood samples were collected from 12 SRNS and control. Moreover, RNA isolation was carried out with blood plasma samples stored in a cooler at -800C, while miR-21 expression was measured using qRT-PCR. The difference between miRNAs expression analyzed with Livak and the correlation between B2M and miR-21 expression were analyzed using Spearman correlation analysis. Based on the results, there were notable upregulation of miR-21 in SRNS compared to SSNS 2-ΔΔCt > 1. However, no correlation was observed between B2M expression with the upregulation of miR-21 ( -1 < rs < 1, p > 0.05). The miR-21 is upregulated in children with SRNS. This indicates that the expression level of this miRNA potentially applicable as a predictor for SRNS development in children.