Folia Biologica
Journal of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Charles University 

Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic and recurrent inflammatory bowel disease, often accompanied by symptoms of malnutrition. MicroRNA is stably present in faeces and plays a significant role in CD. This study aimed to explore the expression of miR-26b-5p in the faeces of CD patients and its association with disease severity and nutritional status. The GEO2R online tool was used to analyse the datasets GSE144535 and GSE102134. The subjects’ data were collected. The ability of miR-26b-5p to distinguish healthy individuals from CD patients was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic curve. The subjects were grouped based on the Crohn’s disease activity index, simple endoscopic score for Crohn’s disease (SES-CD), malnutrition universal screening tool (MUST) and nutrition risk screening 2002 (NRS 2002) scales, and the expression levels of miR-26b-5p in the faeces of CD patients were detected. The correlation between miR-26b-5p and MUST and NRS 2002 scores was analysed by Spearman’s test. The target genes were predicted by miRDB and TargetScan databases, and the biological processes and pathways involved in these genes were identified through GO/KEGG analysis. MiR-26b-5p was significantly down-regulated in the CD dataset and patient faeces, negatively correlated with the disease activity and severity of inflammation, and its expression was lower in patients with poorer nutritional status. GO/KEGG analysis revealed that the target genes of miR-26b-5p were involved in inflammation and nutrient metabolism pathways. We conclude that miR-26b-5p is a potential biomarker for CD and is negatively correlated with the severity of the disease and the degree of malnutrition.

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