Predictive value of miR-151a-3p for the onset of sepsis-induced acute kidney injury and its functional role during disease development

Background Sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI) is a significant clinical challenge due to its prevalence in intensive care units. This study evaluated the diagnostic utility of serum miR-151a-3p for SA-AKI, aiming to provide new insights into early diagnosis and mechanistic research.Methods Serum miR-151a-3p levels were determined via qRT-PCR and assessed for clinical correlations (Pearson correlation), risk association with SA-AKI (logistic regression), and diagnostic efficacy (ROC curve analysis). In vitro, the injury model was constructed by inducing TCMK-1 cells with LPS, and the miR-151a-3p mimic was transfected to observe its effects on inflammatory and oxidative stress. Finally, a binding relationship between miR-151a-3p and AKT3 was validated by employing both bioinformatics and dual-luciferase assay.Results In SA-AKI patients, miR-151a-3p was significantly decreased, and its expression level showed a significant negative correlation with disease severity and representative indicators of renal function. MiR-151a-3p is an independent protective factor for SA-AKI, with an AUC of 0.883 for predicting SA-AKI. In vitro experiments confirmed that overexpression of miR-151a-3p significantly alleviated LPS-induced inflammatory responses and oxidative stress damage. The dual-luciferase assay confirmed the binding relationship between AKT3 and miR-151a-3p.Conclusions MiR-151a-3p is closely related to the severity of SA-AKI. It can be used as a potential biomarker for the early prediction of the occurrence of SA-AKI. Overexpression of miR-151a-3p alleviates LPS-induced renal tubular epithelial cell injury.