Evaluation of serum miRNA21 and interleukin-15 in Celiac disease patients

Background: Celiac disease (CD), also known as "celiac sprue," is a persistent inflammatory condition that involves the small intestine, with an incidence of 1% in the majority of the population. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the role of interleukin-15 (IL-15) and MicroRNA21(miRNA21) among patients with Celiac Disease and comparing it with healthy controls. Methodology: This study was conducted on a total of (150) individuals in different sex and age group cases (40 males + 110 females) including (75) patients with Celiac Disease and (75) healthy individuals. CD patients were recruited at the Medicine Unit at Al-Sadder Medical City and the Specialized Hospital for Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Al-Najaf province. All patients were diagnosed with CD by serological and histological tests. The age range of the study population was from (3-45) years. Blood was drawn from a vein, to investigate microRNA21 by one-step qRT-PCR and IL-15 by ELISA technique. Results: The findings revealed that the mean of miRNA21 and IL-15 were elevated in CD patients compared to healthy people. Celiac Disease patients had a significantly higher mean of IL-15 than the healthy Group, 327.4 vs. 163, respectively (P.value <0.001). miRNA-21 expression was significantly upregulated in CD patients (fold change=6.21), compared to a control group (fold change=1.04). (P=< 0.001) Conclusion: The miR-21/IL-15 interaction may contribute to Celiac disease pathogenesis. Moreover, miR-21/IL-15 could be utilized as a biomarker to diagnose psoriasis and to assess its severity.