Systematic Search for Novel Circulating Biomarkers Associated with Extracellular Vesicles in Alzheimer's Disease:...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Genetics
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are crucial in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD).
• Extracellular vesicles (EVs) carry miRNAs, serving as potential circulating biomarkers in body fluids.
• EV-associated miRNAs (EV-miRNAs) in peripheral blood offer possibilities for early, less invasive AD diagnostics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prioritize EV-related miRNAs interacting with AD-associated genes.
• To identify promising EV-miRNA candidates for novel Alzheimer's disease biomarkers.

Main Methods:

• Combined literature-derived EV-miRNAs with known AD risk genes, enriching for miRNA-target gene interactions (MTI).
• Integrated AD phenotype-associated miRNAs with known target genes for MTI enrichment.
• Analyzed miRNA expression in various sample types to identify potential circulating AD biomarkers.

Main Results:

• Identified four common MTI between EV-miRNAs and AD-associated miRNAs: hsa-miR-375-APH1B, hsa-miR-107-CDC42SE2, hsa-miR-375-CELF2, and hsa-miR-107-IL6.
• Proposed 61 out of 169 unique miRNAs (36.1%) and seven out of 84 unique MTI (8.3%) as strong AD-circulating biomarker candidates.
• Highlighted specific EV-miRNAs and MTI with potential diagnostic value for Alzheimer's disease.

Conclusions:

• The study identified several potential novel AD biomarkers from EV-miRNAs.
• These findings suggest EV-miRNAs could serve as valuable circulating biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease.
• Further research is necessary to validate these candidates for clinical application in AD diagnostics.