Prognostic value of miR-4793-3p in severe childhood pneumonia and its regulatory role in LPS-induced MRC-5 cell injury

Severe pneumonia is an important cause of high mortality in children. miR-4793-3p is closely associated with severe pneumonia, while its specific mechanism of action in severe childhood pneumonia (SCP) remains poorly explored. This work analyzed miR-4793-3p expression and its prognostic value in pediatric SCP. The expression levels of peripheral blood miR-4793-3p and FOXO1 were detected by qRT-PCR. KM curves were plotted based on follow-up data for survival analysis, and Cox regression analysis was conducted to clarify the influence of miR-4793-3p on the adverse prognosis of patients with SCP. CCK-8 assay was used to detect cell viability, flow cytometry to measure cell apoptosis rate, and ELISA to determine the concentrations of IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6. TargetScan identified FOXO1 as a downstream effector of miR-4793-3p, with dual-luciferase testing validating their binding interaction. SCP patients display significantly higher miR-4793-3p levels, and this microRNA serves as an adverse prognostic biomarker. Downregulation of miR-4793-3p alleviated LPS-induced reduction in cell viability, excessive apoptosis, and overactivated inflammatory response. miR-4793-3p directly targeted FOXO1, which was significantly downregulated in SCP patients and showed a prominent negative correlation with miR-4793-3p expression. FOXO1 knockdown reversed the alleviative effects on cell injury and inflammatory suppression mediated by miR-4793-3p inhibition. Elevated miR-4793-3p serves as a candidate biomarker to forecast unfavorable clinical outcomes in children with SCP and indicates higher disease risk. Not applicable.