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Published on: March 4, 2014
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IsomiR utility in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis prognostication
Yahel Cohen1, Ilan Sinai1, Iddo Magen1
1Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel; Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Med (New York, N.Y.)
|November 22, 2025
Summary
Plasma isomiRs, specifically let-7g-5p.t, show prognostic utility in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Higher levels correlate with longer survival, offering new potential for ALS biomarker discovery.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Genetics
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease marked by motor neuron loss.
- IsomiRs, miRNA variants from alternative processing, have unexplored potential as cell-free biomarkers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prognostic value of plasma isomiRs in ALS patients.
- To explore isomiRs as novel blood-based biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases.
Main Methods:
- Next-generation sequencing was used to profile cell-free isomiRs in ALS patient plasma.
- Two orthogonal statistical approaches were employed for analysis.
Main Results:
- Elevated levels of the isomiR let-7g-5p.t were associated with longer survival in ALS patients.
- This finding was validated in an independent international cohort.
- The prognostic utility of let-7g-5p.t was comparable to established biomarkers like NfL.
Conclusions:
- IsomiRs represent a new class of blood-based biomarkers for ALS.
- These findings can potentially enhance prognostication in clinical trials for neurodegenerative diseases.
Keywords:
amyotrophic lateral sclerosisisomiRsmachine learning in biomedicinemiRNAneurodegenerative diseasesprognostic biomarkerssmall RNA biomarkerssurvival analysistranslation to patientstranslational neuroscience
