Circulating lncRNA ITSN1-2 is upregulated, and its high expression correlates with increased disease severity, elevated inflammation, and poor survival in sepsis patients.

Background: This study aimed to assess the correlation of long noncoding (lnc) RNA intersectin (ITSN) 1-2 expression with disease risk, severity, inflammation, and survival in sepsis patients.

Methods: Three hundred and nine intensive care unit (ICU)-treated sepsis patients and 300 healthy controls were consecutively recruited in this study. Blood samples were collected from all sepsis patients within 24 hours after admitted to ICU and from healthy controls at the time of health screening, and the expression of lncRNA ITSN1-2 in plasma was detected by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Disease severity was assessed by physicians using acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II score on day 1 after ICU admission. Additionally, the plasma inflammatory cytokines (including tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin 1β (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and IL-17) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits.

Results: lncRNA ITSN1-2 was highly expressed in sepsis patients compared to healthy controls and could differentiate sepsis patients from healthy controls with area under the curve (AUC) 0.777 (95% CI: 0.740-0.813). lncRNA ITSN1-2 expression was positively correlated with APACHE II score, C-reactive protein (CRP), TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8 levels, but negatively correlated with IL-10 level. In addition, lncRNA ITSN1-2 was highly expressed in non-survivors compared to survivors and could distinguish survivors from non-survivors in sepsis patients with AUC 0.654 (95% CI: 0.581-0.726).

Conclusion: Circulating lncRNA ITSN1-2 is upregulated, and its high expression associates with increased disease severity and inflammation as well as poor prognosis in sepsis patients.