AUTHOR=Wang Bo , Wang Li-nong , Cheng Fang-fang , Lv Hai-tao , Sun Ling , Wei Dong-kai , Pu Yu , Wu Jie , Hou Yuan-yuan , Wen Bin , Xu Xia-ping , Yan Wen-hua 

TITLE=MiR-222-3p in Platelets Serves as a Distinguishing Marker for Early Recognition of Kawasaki Disease

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pediatrics

VOLUME=Volume 7 - 2019

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pediatrics/articles/10.3389/fped.2019.00237

DOI=10.3389/fped.2019.00237

ISSN=2296-2360

ABSTRACT=Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute vasculitis that 20% of which may develop coronary artery aneurysm in children if not appropriately treated. Therefore the early diagnosis of KD is essential for alleviating risk of acquiring heart disease. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a large class of small noncoding RNAs which post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression and have been shown to play critical roles in numerous biological processes and diseases. In this study, we use high-throughput miRNA sequencing and find dozens of miRNAs are highly expressed in platelets. By comparing the miRNA expression profile of platelets of acute KD patients and other febrile patients, miR-222-3p is validated to be significantly upregulated in platelets of acute KD patients. Further KEGG pathway analysis shows that targets of miR-222-3p are enriched in immune-related signaling pathways. Our study uncovers the potential of miR-222-3p in platelets as biomarker for early diagnosis of Kawasaki disease.