ReviewMicroRNA's are novel biomarkers in sepsis - A systematic review

•MiRs are non-coding RNA molecules that bind to mRNAs and inhibit gene expression.•We found 13 studies that identified 28 different miRs expressed in sepsis patients.•MiRs might be a prognostic and diagnostic tool for patients with sepsis.

PurposeSepsis is one of the leading causes of death after admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). The discovery of small non-coding microRNAs (miRs) and their correlation to sepsis has gained increasing interest. Our aim was to systematically review the literature examining the association between differential expression of miRs and sepsis.MethodsWe performed a systematic search in the MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Library databases according to PRISMA-guidelines. We included all original English-language studies including human subjects admitted to the ICU with sepsis or systemic inflammatory response syndrome. The miR measures were done during the ICU-stay and the outcome was either death or survival. The identified miRs were combined with predicted human target genes, in order to identify target genes associated with the inflammatory response.ResultsWe found 245 papers. Eleven original studies were included into the systematic review. The included studies consisted of 12 case-control studies and one randomized controlled trial. 28 different miRs were associated with sepsis. However, we were unable to link the identified miRs with any predictive genes specific for sepsis, when searching the computational target prediction databases.ConclusionVarious miRs are associated with sepsis, but no corresponding predictor genes were found.