Circulating miRNA-3552 as a Potential Biomarker for Ischemic Stroke in Rats
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Updated: Dec 13, 2025
Digital PCR for Quantifying Circulating MicroRNAs in Acute Myocardial Infarction and Cardiovascular Disease
Published on: July 3, 2018
Litao Li1, Lipeng Dong1, Jingru Zhao1
1Department of Neurology, Hebei General Hospital, No. 348, Heping West Road, Shijiazhuang, 050050 Hebei Province, China.
Objective:
With the growing incidence of ischemic stroke worldwide, there is an urgent need to identify blood biomarkers for ischemic stroke patients. Thus, our aim was to identify potential circulating microRNA (miRNA) as a potential biomarker and to explore its potential mechanism for ischemic stroke in rats.
Methods:
The mRNA dataset GSE97537 and miRNA dataset GSE97532 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) GSE97537 including 7 middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rat brain tissues and 5 sham-operated rat brain tissues GSE97532 including 6 MCAO rat blood samples and 3 sham-operated rat blood samples. Differentially expressed mRNAs and miRNAs with corrected p value ≤ 0.01 and fold change ≥2 or ≤0.05 were identified. To explore potential biological processes and pathways of differentially expressed mRNAs, functional enrichment analysis was performed. The target mRNAs of differentially expressed miRNAs were predicted using DNA Intelligent Analysis (DIANA)-microT tools. The target mRNAs and differentially expressed mRNAs were intersected.
Results:
1228 differentially expressed mRNAs in MCAO rat brain tissues were identified. Highly expressed mRNAs were mainly enriched in the inflammatory responses. Nine differentially expressed miRNAs were identified in MCAO rat blood samples. A total of 673 target mRNAs were predicted to significantly bind these differentially expressed miRNAs. Among them, 54 target mRNAs were differentially expressed in MCAO rat blood samples. Enrichment analysis results showed that these 54 target mRNAs were closely related to neurological diseases and immune responses. Among all miRNA-mRNA relationship, miR-3552-CASP3 interaction was identified, indicating that CASP3 might be mediated by miR-3552. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that CASP3 was involved in the apoptosis pathway, indicating that miR-3552 might participate in apoptosis by CASP3.
Conclusion:
Our findings reveal that circulating miR-3552 shows promise as a potential biomarker for ischemic stroke in rats.
Insights
Researchers identified circulating microRNA (miRNA) miR-3552 as a promising biomarker for ischemic stroke in rats. This microRNA may play a role in the disease by influencing the apoptosis pathway through CASP3.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience and Molecular Biology
- Biomarker Discovery
- Ischemic Stroke Research
Background:
- Growing global incidence of ischemic stroke necessitates novel diagnostic tools.
- Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are emerging as potential biomarkers for various diseases.
- Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying ischemic stroke is crucial for developing effective treatments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) as potential biomarkers for ischemic stroke in a rat model.
- To investigate the potential mechanism of action for identified miRNAs in ischemic stroke pathogenesis.
- To explore the relationship between differentially expressed miRNAs and their target messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in stroke.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets (GSE97537 for mRNA, GSE97532 for miRNA) from middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and sham-operated rats.
- Identified differentially expressed mRNAs and miRNAs using stringent statistical criteria (corrected p-value ≤ 0.01, fold change ≥2 or ≤0.05).
- Performed functional enrichment analysis and predicted miRNA-target mRNA interactions using DIANA-microT tools.
Main Results:
- Identified 1228 differentially expressed mRNAs in MCAO rat brain tissues, enriched in inflammatory responses.
- Detected nine differentially expressed miRNAs in MCAO rat blood samples.
- Discovered a significant interaction between miR-3552 and CASP3, with CASP3 implicated in apoptosis, suggesting miR-3552's role in regulating apoptosis via CASP3.
Conclusions:
- Circulating miR-3552 demonstrates potential as a novel biomarker for detecting ischemic stroke in rats.
- The miR-3552-CASP3 interaction suggests a molecular pathway involving apoptosis in ischemic stroke.
- Further research is warranted to validate miR-3552 as a clinical biomarker and therapeutic target.
