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Expression of miR-155 in Serum Exosomes in Children with Epilepsy and Its Diagnostic Value
Ya Liu1, Gang Yu2, Yan-Yan Ding2
1Pediatric Department of Liaocheng Second People's Hospital, Liaocheng, Shandong Province, China.
Insights
MicroRNA-155 (miR-155) in serum exosomes is elevated in children with epilepsy. This biomarker shows diagnostic potential and correlates with disease severity, aiding epilepsy assessment.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Neurology
Background:
- Epilepsy diagnosis relies on clinical evaluation and electroencephalography (EEG).
- Biomarkers for early diagnosis and severity assessment are needed.
- Exosomes, particularly microRNAs (miRNAs) within them, are emerging as potential biomarkers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the expression of miR-155 in serum exosomes of children with epilepsy.
- To investigate the diagnostic value of serum exosomal miR-155 for epilepsy.
- To explore the correlation between miR-155 levels and epilepsy severity (disease course, EEG abnormalities).
Main Methods:
- Serum samples were collected from 43 children with epilepsy and 43 healthy controls.
- Exosomes were isolated from serum and characterized using transmission electron microscopy and Western Blot.
- Relative miR-155 expression was quantified and analyzed in relation to clinical data and diagnostic accuracy was assessed using ROC curves.
Main Results:
- Children with epilepsy exhibited significantly higher miR-155 levels in serum exosomes compared to healthy controls (P<0.05).
- miR-155 expression correlated with the duration of epilepsy and the degree of EEG abnormalities (P<0.05).
- Serum exosomal miR-155 demonstrated high diagnostic efficiency for epilepsy with an AUC of 0.813 (P<0.05).
Conclusions:
- miR-155 is upregulated in serum exosomes of children with epilepsy.
- Serum exosomal miR-155 serves as a potential biomarker for epilepsy diagnosis.
- miR-155 levels may aid in assessing epilepsy severity and disease progression.
Objective:
This study was designed to analyze the expression of miR-155 in serum exosomes in children with epilepsy and to explore its diagnostic value.
Methods:
From March 2020 to March 2021, 43 hospitalized children with epilepsy admitted to the Department of Neurology of the hospital were included, and another 43 gender- and age-matched healthy children were randomly selected as the healthy control group during the same period. Then fasting serum samples of the two groups were collected to extract the exosomes. The morphology of the exosomes was evaluated under a transmission electron microscope, and the expression of specific protein markers on the surface was detected by Western Blot. In addition, the relative expression of miR-155 in serum exosomes in children with epilepsy with different courses of the disease and different degrees of abnormal electroencephalography (EEG) was compared, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (ROC-AUC) was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of miR-155.
Results:
A higher relative expression level of miR-155 in serum exosomes was obtained in the epilepsy group, as compared to the healthy control group (P<0.05), and the relative expression of miR-155 in serum exosomes in children with epilepsy was correlated with the course of the disease and the degree of abnormal EEG (both P<0.05). In addition, the expression of miR-155 in serum exosomes showed high diagnostic efficiency for epilepsy (AUC = 0.813, P<0.05).
Conclusion:
The expression of miR-155 in serum exosomes in children with epilepsy is up-regulated, and its level is related to the course of the disease and the degree of abnormal EEG, so miR-155 in serum exosomes may be used as a biomarker for the diagnosis and assessment of the severity of epilepsy.
