Background microRNA-381 is dysregulated in a variety of cancers. However, its clinical significance in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to detect the expression level of miR-381 in pediatric AML patients and to explore its potential clinical significance. Methods The levels of miR-381 in bone marrow and serum of 102 pediatric AML patients were measured by quantitative real-time polymorperase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The diagnostic value of serum miR-381 in pediatric AML patients was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. A Chi square test was used to analyze the relationship between serum miR-381 and the clinical characteristics of patients. Cox regression analysis and Kaplan–Meier evaluated the prognostic value of serum miR-381 in patients. Finally, the proliferation of the cells was analyzed by the CCK-8 assay. Results Compared with healthy controls, the levels of miR-381 in serum and bone marrow of pediatric AML patients were significantly decreased (P < 0.001). ROC curve showed that miR-381 could distinguish pediatric AML cases from normal controls. At the same time, the downregulation of miR-381 was associated with M7 in the French–American–British (FAB) classifications and unfavorable cytogenetic risks (P < 0.05). Low serum miR-381 levels were associated with poor overall survival of pediatric AML (log-rank test, P = 0.011) and poor relapse-free survival (log-rank test, P = 0.004). Cox regression analysis confirmed that reduced serum miR-381 was an independent predictor of poor prognosis in AML (HR = 3.794, 95% CI 1.3633–10.559, P = 0.011). In addition, low expression of miR-381 significantly reduced the proliferation of cells (P < 0.05). Conclusion All experimental results confirm that miR-381 has reduced bone marrow and serum expression in pediatric AML, and low levels of serum miR-381 have certain diagnostic and prognostic value in pediatric AML and may be a potential therapeutic target for AML.

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This research aimed to analyze the diagnostic value of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) based on tensor image registration algorithm for hypoxia-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). In this study, 90 newborns diagnosed with HIE who were admitted to our hospital from October 30, 2016 to January 30, 2019 were selected as experimental group (EG) and were divided into mild group (EG 1), moderate group (EG 2), and severe group (EG 3). In addition, 45 normal newborns of the same period were selected as the control group (CG). All subjects underwent DTI, which was processed by image registration algorithm, and the regions of interest (ROIs) were manually selected, including anterior limb of internal capsule (ALIC), posterior limb of internal capsule (PLIC), frontal white matter (FWM), centrum semiovale, corpus callosum (CC), and lenticular nucleus. Fractional anisotropy (FA) values for each ROI were recorded. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and area under curve (AUC) of each ROI in diagnosing HIE. The results showed that the images processed by the registration algorithm were clearer than the original images, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was increased, and the artifact was decreased, so that the lesions of newborns with HIE could be clearly observed. FA values in some ROIs in EG were significantly lower than those in CG (P < 0.05). FA values of all ROIs in the EG 3 were significantly lower than those in the EG 1 and the EG 2, with significant differences (P < 0.05). The FA values of the ALIC, the PLIC, and the centrum semiovale in the EG 2 were significantly lower than those in the EG 1, with significant differences (P < 0.05). The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and AUC area of the ALIC were higher, that is, 87.6%, 87.7%, 89.6%, and 0.879, respectively, indicating that with the aggravation of the condition of HIE, the morphological damage of the white matter fiber bundle became more serious and the FA value decreased. Therefore, DTI imaging is safe and feasible in the diagnosis of HIT lesions, especially with high accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity in the ALIC and FWM.