Clinical value and role of long non-coding RNA PSMB8-AS1 in the progress of ischemic stroke in patients with hypertension

Hypertension is a common risk factors for ischemic stroke (IS), with the widely involvement of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). The expression pattern and clinical significance of lncRNA PSMB8-AS1 was examined in essential hypertension (EH) patients with or without IS, as well as its role and mechanism in IS-induced neuron cell injury. Serum PSMB8-AS1 levels in 260 EH cases without IS and 280 participants with IS were detected via reverse transcription − quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The outcome during 12-month follow-up period was recorded. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and Kaplan − Meier (K-M) plot were drawn to evaluate diagnostic and prognostic values. HT22 cells were exposed to oxygen–glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) condition for cell function experiments. The cell viability, apoptosis, and inflammatory response were detected. Elevated expression of PSMB8-AS1 can differentiate IS from EH patients, and was independently related to the poor functional prognosis. Patients with high PSMB8-AS1 expression were likely to relapse during the 12-month follow-up period. In vitro, PSMB8-AS1 knockdown attenuated OGD/R-induced neuron cell apoptosis and inflammatory response, which was returned by microRNA-22-3p downregulation. PI3K-Akt signaling was of significance during the progress based on the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis. PSMB8-AS1 acts as a novel biomarker for the diagnosis of IS in EH patients. Elevated PSMB8-AS1 is associated with worse neurological outcomes and higher recurrence rates of IS patients. LncRNA PSMB8-AS1 knockdown might have a promising role in attenuating OGD/R-induced neuron cell injury, that might be related to miR-22-3p.