• Huimin Yan, Xinyu Zhang, and Yi Xu.
• Clinical Research Center, Shijiazhuang Fifth Hospital.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2020 Apr 1; 99 (17): e19693.

BackgroundmicroRNAs have drawn more attention due to their function on the inflammatory process. The association between microRNA-21 (miR-21) expression and risk of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) remain inconclusive. This study was aimed to acquire a more exact estimation of this relationship.MethodsRelevant studies were identified through searching PubMed, Embase, Wanfang, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure database. Pooled standardized mean difference and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using a random-effect model. Publication bias test, sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis were carried out.ResultsA total of 20 relevant articles comprising 540 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), 459 patients with Crohn disease (CD) and 511 non-IBD controls were included in this analysis. The expression of miR-21 was significantly increased in colon tissue of both UC and CD patients compared with non-IBD controls. However, there were no significant differences between patients with UC and CD. Moreover, increased miR-21 expression was associated with disease activity status in UC patients, but not in CD patients.ConclusionsThis meta-analysis demonstrates that the higher miR-21 expression in colon tissue is positively associated with the development of UC and CD, and miR-21 might serve as a disease marker of IBD.

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