ArticleInfectious diseases & clinical microbiology2026
Upregulation of Serum microRNA-21 as a Noninvasive Biomarker in Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients in Duhok, Iraq.
Article in Infectious diseases & clinical microbiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic potential of serum microRNA-21 (miR-21) as a noninvasive biomarker for active pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and to compare its performance with conventional diagnostic methods, including smear microscopy and the GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between July 2024 and August 2025 in Duhok and Mosul, Iraq. Sputum samples were examined by Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) staining, and selected samples were analyzed using the GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay. Serum samples were collected from patients with confirmed active PTB and healthy controls. Serum miR-21 expression levels were quantified using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), normalized to U6 small nuclear RNA as an internal reference, and analyzed using the comparative Ct (2-ΔΔCt) method. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software, and a p-value of ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 474 sputum samples from patients suspected of PTB were examined. Serum miR-21 analysis was performed in 40 patients with confirmed PTB and 30 healthy controls. Serum miR-21 expression was significantly higher in patients with PTB compared with healthy controls (9.29 ± 0.11 vs. 1.30 ± 0.02; Conclusion: Serum miR-21 was significantly upregulated in patients with active PTB, suggesting its potential as a noninvasive biomarker that may complement existing diagnostic methods. However, large-scale studies are needed to further validate its diagnostic value.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.