Evaluation of miR-216a and miR-217 as potential biomarkers of acute pancreatic injury in rats and mice.

David Goodwin, Barry Rosenzweig, Jun Zhang, Lin Xu, Sharron Stewart, Karol Thompson, Rodney Rouse

Index: Biomarkers 19(6) , 517-29, (2014)

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Abstract

Mild injury of the exocrine pancreas is often asymptomatic and can be under- or mis-diagnosed. The pancreas-enriched microRNAs miR-216a and miR-217 were evaluated as potential serum biomarkers of exocrine pancreas injury in rodent models of acute pancreatitis induced by caerulein, l-arginine, and pancreatic duct ligation. Both microRNAs showed time- and dose- relevant responses to pancreatic injury and wider dynamic ranges of response than serum amylase or lipase. Pancreas-selective microRNAs were found to be relatively sensitive serum biomarkers of pancreatic injury in rodents with potentially greater specificity than the current standard assays.