Relationship between miR-148a-3p and Lower Extremity Arteriosclerosis Obliterans

Abstract

Background: Post-interventional restenosis remains a major limitation in the management of Lower Extremity Arteriosclerosis Obliterans (LEASO), and reliable circulating biomarkers for early risk prediction are still lacking.Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum miR-148a-3p expression and post-interventional restenosis in patients with LEASO, and to evaluate its potential as a predictive biomarker.Materials and Methods: A total of 412 LEASO patients who underwent endovascular intervention between May 2023 and November 2023 were enrolled. Serum miR-148a-3p expression was detected before intervention. All patients were followed up for 6 months to assess restenosis. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to identify independent risk factors for restenosis, and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed.Results: During follow-up, 80 patients (19.4%) developed restenosis. The expression level of miR-148a-3p in the restenosis group was significantly higher (1.4±0.2 vs. 0.5±0.2, p<0.001). Older age (≥65 years), higher body mass index (BMI≥25 kg/m²), hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, and elevated miR-148a-3p (≥0.6) were identified as independent risk factors. ROC curve analysis showed that miR-148a-3p had good predictive performance for restenosis, with an Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.86, a sensitivity of 82.5%, and a specificity of 79.8% at the optimal cutoff value of 0.6.Conclusion: Serum miR-148a-3p is an independent predictor of post-interventional restenosis in LEASO patients. Its elevated expression may be involved in the pathogenesis of restenosis, suggesting its potential as a novel biomarker for risk stratification and clinical management of LEASO patients after intervention.

Keywords: Lower Extremity Arteriosclerosis Obliterans; Mechanism studies; miR-148a-3p; miRNA