Abstract: Objective To explore the regulation and clinical significance of miR-486 in patients with sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) and secondary polycythemia. Methods Twenty-five healthy subjects who visited Outpatient Department and Health Examination Center of Qinghai Provincial People's Hospital from May 2020 to April 2021 were elected as the control group, and thirty cases of OSAHS patients with secondary polycythemia diagnosed by polysomnography and laboratory examination were selected as the OSAHS+SP group. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) miR-486, Sirt1 and GATA-1 expression were measured by RT-qPCR, and the concen- tration of plasma Sirt1 was measured by ELISA. In addition, RT-qPCR was used for the miR-486,Sirt1 or expression in K562 cells after the IH treatment, miR-486 over-expression or miR-486 inhibition. The Sirt1 expression was measured by RT-qPCR and Western blot. GATA-1 mRNA expression was checked by RT-qPCR in Sirt1 inhibited K562 cells. Results 1)Body mass index, red blood cells, hemoglobin (HB) and sleep apnea index(AHI) in OSAHS+SP group were significantly higher than those of control group(P＜0.001); 2)The expression of miR-486, Sirt1, and GATA-1 were significantly increased and plasma Sirt1 concentration was significantly decreased in OSAHS+SP patients PBMC(P＜0.001); 3)PBMC miR-486 and GATA-1 expression were positively correlated with AHI and HB(P＜0.05). PBMC Sirt1 expression and plasma Sirt1 level were negatively correlated with plasma Sirt1 concentration in OSAHS+SP group(P＜0.05); 4)IH promoted the expression of miR-486(P＜0.01) and inhibited Sirt1 expression in K562 cells(P＜0.01). RT-qPCR and Western blot showed that over-expression of miR-486 decreased Sirt1 expression(P＜0.01), whereas miR-486 inhibition increased the expression of Sirt1(P＜0.001). The GATA-1 expression was increased after the inhibition of Sirt1(P＜0.01). Conclusions miR-486 regulates the biological process of OSAHS patients with secondary polycythemia by targeting at Sirt1.

Key words: sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome, secondary polycythemia, Sirt1, GATA-1