There is H19 and C1QTNF6 upregulation, as well as miR-29b downregulation, in neutrophils of patients with ischemic stroke
Neutrophils are the most abundant leukocytes; therefore, we detected the maximal changes in the neutrophil gene expression. We found a novel gene, C1QTNF6, which showed increased mRNA expression in the neutrophils of patients with acute ischemic stroke compared with healthy volunteers (Figure 1A, P < 0.05). Further analysis using TargetScan and StarBase databases revealed that C1QTNF6 is regulated by miR-29b and H19. Further, our analysis identified the putative miR-29b binding sites of H19 and 3’ UTR of C1QTNF6 mRNA (Figure 1D). To confirm this, we conducted quantitative real-time PCR to evaluate the mRNA expression of miR-29b, H19, and C1QTNF6 in neutrophils. H19 expression in neutrophils was significantly increased in patients with stroke (Figure 1A, P < 0.05). Further, patients with stroke showed decreased miR-29b expression (Figure 1A,P <0.05), which significantly increased C1QTNF6 levels. Additionally, there was a negative linear correlation between miR-29b and C1QTNF6 levels in the neutrophils of patients with stroke (Figure 1B, r = -0.716, P < 0.001).