Serum aberrant expression of LINC00963 and its diagnostic value in carotid artery stenosis

Abstract Objectives Carotid artery stenosis (CAS) significantly impacts cerebral health. The identification of effective biomarkers for CAS and its progression is of paramount importance. The study aimed to explore a novel biomarker for diagnosing CAS and predicting its poor prognosis. Methods This study involved 109 CAS subjects and 87 healthy individuals. The LINC00963 expression of all subjects was evaluated by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the diagnostic value of LINC00963 on CAS was analyzed by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The association between LINC00963 and the CAS clinical indicators was assessed by the chi-square test. The occurrence of cerebral ischemic events (CIE) in CAS was assessed by the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Multivariate COX regression analysis was employed to evaluate the independent prognostic factors for CAS. Results Upregulation of LINC00963 expression was observed in CAS subjects and showed a diagnostic value on CAS. The blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels of CAS subjects were significantly elevated than those of healthy controls. A close association between LINC00963 expression and levels of systolic blood pressure (SBP), triglyceride (TG), LDL-C, and the CAS degree was revealed. CAS subjects with high expression levels of LINC00963 showed a higher incidence of CIE than CAS subjects with low LINC00963 expression. Besides, SBP, LDL-C, CAS degree, and the LINC00963 expression were independent prognostic factors for CAS. Conclusions Upregulated LINC00963 expression in CAS showed a significant diagnostic and prognostic value on CAS and could serve as the independent prognostic factor for CAS.