Diagnostic Potential of Differentially Expressed Homer1 and Homer2 in Ischemic Stroke

Background: Ischemic stroke (IS) is an extremely heterogeneous disease with variable pathogenesis. Due to the lack of early diagnostic marker, the mortality rate of IS remains high worldwide. The family of Homer plays an important role in the pathology of atherosclerotic plaque. In this study, we have investigated its expression pattern and clinical significance in IS. Methods: RT-qPCR was performed to detect the expression of Homer1, Homer2, and Homer3. Results: We found that the mRNA levels of Homer1 (p<0.001) and Homer2 (p<0.001), but not Homer3, in large-artery atherosclerosis (LAA) strokes were significantly upregulated than those in non-LAA strokes and controls. Multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that, although none of the Homer was associated with non-LAA strokes, higher Homer1 (adjusted OR=1.337, 95% CI: 1.227-1.458) and Homer2 (adjusted OR=1.099, 95% CI: 1.062-1.138) levels showed significant associations with increased odds of having LAA stroke, compared with the controls. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves showed that the combination of Homer1 and Homer2 had a better diagnostic accuracy to differentiate LAA strokes from non-LAA strokes and controls, and the sensitivity and specificity ratios were 80.5%/90.4% and 98.0%/70.3%, respectively. Conclusion: Our data suggested that Homer1 and Homer2 might be considered as novel diagnostic biomarkers for LAA stroke. (C) 2016 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel