MicroRNAs in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: a Systematic Review

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a common gastrointestinal disorder, was reported to contribute to abdominal pain, decrease the quality of life and work productivity of affected individuals, and lead to cachexia and frailty. However, molecules that regulate irritable bowel syndrome have not been fully clarified. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that inhibit the translation of target messenger RNAs. Previous studies have shown that miRNAs have critical roles in the regulation of the pathogenicity of irritable bowel syndrome. Therefore, this systematic review focused on miRNAs that regulate irritable bowel syndrome. PubMed and Web of Science were searched to retrieve reference lists of eligible articles and related reviews. Original articles and reviews that reported the utility of miRNAs as potential biomarkers or targets for specific therapies of IBS that were published in English from 2004 to 2021 were included. Among 78 identified studies, 22 eligible studies were included in this systematic review. These results suggest that miRNAs are potential biomarkers and targets of gene therapy for IBS. Further studies including clinical studies will be necessary to confirm the utility of miRNAs as biomarkers and targets for the gene therapy of IBS.