Ratios of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to lncRNA steroid receptor RNA activator as new indicators of metabolic syndrome

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a clinical syndrome with several characteristics. Steroid receptor RNA activator (SRA) is a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), which can increase the expression of steroid receptor-dependent gene. This study aimed to explore the changes in metabolic parameters and the predictive value of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to SRA ratios as new indicators in subjects with and without MetS in southern China.

Material and methods: There were 81 participants (39 with MetS and 42 without MetS) in this cross-sectional study. The expression of lncRNAs in PBMCs was evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The risks of SRA and PBMCs to SRA ratios contributing to the presence of MetS were estimated by univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. The area under the receiver (AUC) operating characteristic curve was employed to evaluate diagnostic accuracy.

Results: MetS was positively correlated with cortisol, interleukin 6 (IL-6), white blood cell to SRA ratio (WTSR), lymphocyte to SRA ratio (LTSR), monocyte to SRA ratio (MTSR), and PBMC to SRA ratio (PTSR). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to assess the value of LTSR (OR: 0.722; p < 0.001) for predicting MetS. The area under the curve yielded a cut-off value of 0.483, with a sensitivity of 76.9% and a specificity of 71.4% (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: In summary, SRA in PBMCs may be an important biomarker of stress reaction and may play a role in vulnerability to MetS. Also, the lymphocyte to SRA ratio demonstrated high accuracy in the diagnosis of MetS.