miR-126-3p and miR-16-5p as novel serum biomarkers for disease activity and treatment response in symptomatic dermographism

Symptomatic dermographism (SD) is the most common form of physical urticaria. So far no promising serum biomarkers for SD have been reported. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to be serum biomarkers for chronic spontaneous urticaria. However, association of miRNAs with SD remains unclear. We enrolled 55 SD patients and 52 healthy controls in this study. We found that serum expressions of miR-126-3p and miR-16-5p were significantly downregulated in active SD patients and upregulated in remission. The area under the curve values of miR-126-3p (0.769) and miR-16-5p (0.789) showed significant ability to diagnostic SD. Serum level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A, a known target of the two miRNAs, was significantly increased in active SD patients and decreased in remission. Moreover, serum VEGF-A level was inversely correlated with expressions of miR-126-3p and miR-16-5p. Our findings indicate that miR-126-3p and miR-16-5p can serve as potential serum biomarkers for SD. • Serum expressions of miR-126-3p and miR-16-5p are downregulated in active SD. • Either miR-126-3p or miR-16-5p shows good diagnostic performance for SD. • Serum expressions of miR-126-3p and miR-16-5p are upregulated in remission SD. • Serum VEGF-A level is increased in active SD and decreased in remission. • Serum VEGF-A level is inversely related to expressions of miR-126-3p and miR-16-5p.