The Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology for Postgraduate Studies / University of Baghdad discussed the master’s thesis of the student Zainab Ali Jabr, entitled: “Study of the Effect of Gene Expression of miR-122-5p and miR-222-5p on Statin Drug Response in Iraqi Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases”, supervised by Prof. Dr. Rafid Abdulwahid Al-Mousawi.
The study aimed to examine the expression of miR-122-5p and miR-222-5p, and to investigate the relationship between their expression levels and the response to statins in patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases.
The results showed that age and family history had significant effects (P = 0.028 and P = 0.011, respectively), while gender and smoking had no significant impact (P = 0.42 and P = 0.41).
The study recommended that the non-responder group of cardiovascular patients may exhibit a different response to statins due to the overexpression of miR-122-5p, which may affect cholesterol levels. Elevated cholesterol was also associated with increased expression of miR-222-5p in the non-responder group. Therefore, miR-222-5p could potentially serve as a biomarker for statin response.
