Purposes: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and their single nucleotide polymorphisms may be involved in the pathophysiological process of acute ischemic stroke (AIS), of which miRNA-146a is one of the most concerned miRNAs. This experiment is aimed to investigate the association of miRNA-146a and its single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) with AIS and its susceptibility in a Chinese population. Methods A case-control study including 137 AIS patients and 100 controls were enrolled. The relative miRNA-146a expression in PBMCs was detected by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). And the SNP of miRNA-146a rs2910164 was genotyped using DNA extraction kit and TaqMan-MGB probe real-time PCR, and its relevance to AIS susceptibility was evaluated. Results The relative miRNA-146a expression in the experimental group (1.65 ± 0.11) was significantly higher than that in the control group (1.13 ± 0.09, P = 0.002). In subgroup analysis, the relative expression level of miRNA-146a in AIS with a course longer than 3 days was significantly higher than that less than or equal to 3 days and the control group (P P = 0.703, OR = 0.930, 95% CI = 0.641–1.349). However, the GG genotype frequency was higher in AIS patients with other causes (SOE) than that in controls according to the TOAST subtype analysis. (P = 0.00, OR: 4.825, 95% CI: 2.720–8.562). Conclusions The findings suggested that miRNA-146a may be involved in the pathophysiological process of AIS. But the miRNA-146a rs2910164C/G polymorphism may not be associated with AIS genetic susceptibility, although the rs2910164GG genotype may increase the risk of SOE AIS.
