MiR-486-5p predicts the progression of severe acute pancreatitis by mediating the inflammatory response and ATG7/p38 MAPK pathway.

Background: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a serious disorder, and is frequently accompanied by shock or organ failure. The study aimed to investigate the predictive value of serum miR-486-5p for the prognosis of SAP patients and the underlying mechanism.

Methods: The concentration of mRNAs was detected by Real-Time PCR reaction. The correlation between miRNA and each scoring system was analyzed via Pearson's correlation analysis. ROC curve was performed for diagnostic value evaluation. The predictive value of miRNA expression in the severity of AP was estimated by logistic regression analysis. HPDE6-C7 cells were treated with cerulein (Cer) to mimic AP in vitro. The cell apoptosis, viability, and inflammatory response were detected by flow cytometry, CCK-8, and ELISA, respectively. The targeting relationship was verified by DLR assay and RIP assay.

Results: The expression of miR-486-5p was elevated in the serum of non-SAP and SAP groups (P < 0.001), which was interconnected with APACHE II, SOFA, and Ranson scores. MiR-486-5p can differentiate SAP patients from non-SAP with the AUC of 0.916, and it was an independent risk for the severity of AP patients. The miR-486-5p/ATG7 axis affected the apoptosis, viability, and inflammatory response of HPDE6-C7 cell models by the p38 MAPK pathway, thus involving the progression of AP.

Conclusions: Serum miR-486-5p may have a certain predictive value for the severity of AP and influence AP development through mediating cell inflammatory response via targeting ATG7.