A Comparative Study Based on the Correlation Between Severity of Psoriasis and miR-146a Expression Levels in Iraqi Patients

Background: Psoriasis is to be treated not only as a skin problem but as a chronic disease, which is a consequence of the immune system and determined by genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Objective: To determine the dysregulation of a particular microRNA, miR-146a, in blood among Iraqi patients who have psoriasis. Methods: The researchers recruited 80 Iraqi participants, divided into 60 patients with psoriasis (20 severe, 20 moderate, and 20 mild). To compare them, the researchers also took 20 healthy volunteers as a control of the same age and gender. We obtained serum and RNA and subsequently measured miR-146a levels in both participants using the stem-loop RT-qPCR, which is a very sensitive technique in the detection of small RNAs. Results: Our discovery was very dramatic; miR-146a was a lot more abundant in patients with psoriasis than in healthy individuals (p