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Elevated Plasma microRNA-105-5p Level in Patients With Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease: A Potential Disease Biomarker
Zhaofei Yang1,2, Tianbai Li1,2, Yanhua Cui1,2,3
1Center for Clinical Research on Neurological Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
Abstract:
Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, which still lacks a biomarker to aid in diagnosis and to differentiate diagnosis at the early stage of the disease. microRNAs (miRNAs) are small and evolutionary conserved non-coding RNAs that are involved in post-transcriptional gene regulation. Several miRNAs have been proposed as potential biomarkers in several diseases. In the present study, we screened miRNAs using a network vulnerability analysis, to evaluate their potential as PD biomarkers. We first extracted miRNAs that were differentially expressed between PD and healthy controls (HC) samples. Then we constructed the PD-specific miRNA-mRNA network and screened miRNA biomarkers using a new bioinformatics model. With this model, we identified miR-105-5p as a putative biomarker for PD. Moreover, we measured miR-105-5p levels in the plasma of patients with idiopathic PD (IPD) (n = 319), neurological disease controls (NDC, n = 305) and HC (n = 273) using reverse transcription real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Our data clearly demonstrated that the plasma miR-105-5p level in IPD patients was significantly higher than those of HC (251%, p < 0.001) and NDC (347%, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in miR-105-5p expression between IPD patients with or without anti-PD medications. Interestingly, we found that the plasma miR-105-5p expression level may be able to differentiate IPD from parkinsonian syndrome, essential tremor and other neurodegenerative diseases. We believe that a change in the plasma miR-105-5p level is a potential biomarker for IPD.
Insights
Researchers identified miR-105-5p as a potential biomarker for Parkinson's disease (PD). Plasma levels of miR-105-5p were significantly elevated in PD patients, aiding in diagnosis and differentiation from other neurological conditions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Genetics
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Parkinson's disease (PD) is a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder lacking definitive early diagnostic biomarkers.
- MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulators of gene expression and are being investigated as potential disease biomarkers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and validate novel microRNA biomarkers for the early diagnosis and differentiation of Parkinson's disease.
- To evaluate the potential of miR-105-5p as a diagnostic marker in patient plasma.
Main Methods:
- Bioinformatic analysis of miRNA-mRNA networks to identify differentially expressed miRNAs in PD.
- Quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) to measure plasma miR-105-5p levels in idiopathic PD (IPD) patients, neurological disease controls (NDC), and healthy controls (HC).
Main Results:
- A novel bioinformatics model identified miR-105-5p as a putative PD biomarker.
- Plasma miR-105-5p levels were significantly elevated in IPD patients compared to both HC and NDC groups.
- miR-105-5p expression levels showed potential in differentiating IPD from other parkinsonian syndromes and neurodegenerative diseases.
Conclusions:
- Plasma miR-105-5p represents a promising, non-invasive biomarker for the diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease.
- This finding could aid in early diagnosis and differential diagnosis, improving patient management.