Aberrant Expression of miRNA and mRNAs in Lesioned Tissues of Graves' Disease

Abstract

Background and Aims: Abnormal microRNA (miRNA) expression is found in many diseases including autoimmune diseases. However, little is known about the role of miRNA regulation in Graves' disease (GD). Here, we simultaneously detected different expressions of miRNA and mRNAs in thyroid tissues via a high-throughput transcriptomics approach, known as microarray, in order to reveal the relationship between aberrant expression of miRNAs and mRNAs spectrum and GD. Methods: Totally 7 specimens of thyroid tissue from 4 GD patients and 3 controls were obtained by surgery for microarray analysis. Then, 30 thyroid specimens (18 GD and 12 controls) were also collected for further validation by quantitative real-time PCR ( qRT-PCR ). Results: Statistical analysis showed that the expressions of 5 specific miRNA were increased significantly while those of other 18 miRNA were decreased in thyroid tissue of GD patients (FC≥1.3 or≤0.77 and p<0.05). In addition, the transcription of 1271 mRNAs was up-regulated, while the expression of 777 mRNAs transcripts was down-regulated (FC≥2.0 or≤0.5 and p<0.05). Furthermore, integrated analysis of differentially expressed miRNA and their target mRNAs demonstrated that 2 miRNA (miR-22 and miR-183) were increased while their potential target mRNAs were decreased. 3 miRNA (miR-101, miR-197 and miR-660) were decreased while their potential target mRNAs were increased. The above findings from microarray screening were confirmed by qRT-PCR in more samples. The results were consistent with those observed in the microarray assays. Conclusion: Our study highlights the possibility that miRNA-target gene network may be involved in the pathogenesis of GD and could provide new insights into understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms of GD.

Imbalance of Th17/Treg in Different Subtypes of Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases

“…Furthermore, we and other investigators have found that distinct AITDs phenotypes may even share common susceptibility genes [2,3]. In our another study, we found that the miRNA-target gene network might be involved in the pathogenesis of GD [4]. …”

Polymorphisms of IKZF3 Gene and Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases: Associated with Graves’ Disease but Not with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis

“…The aberrant profile of miRNA expressions was proved to be a risk factor for GD [24], though the role of rs907091 has not been clearly illustrated. Recently, rs907091 was also referred to as an expression quantitative trait locus for IKZF3 in lymphoblastoid cell lines [25].…”

miR-197: A novel biomarker for cancers

“…miR-197 was also lower in biopsy-proven nonalcoholic fatty liver (Celikbilek et al, 2014), primary biliary cirrhosis (Ninomiya et al, 2013), multiple sclerosis1 (Margareta Jernås et al, 2013), uterine leiomyoma (Ling et al, 2015a), type 2 diabetes (Zampetaki et al, 2010) and increased in placentas of preeclampsia (Choi et al, 2013), Graves' disease (Qin et al, 2015). Furthermore, miR-197, in hepatitis B virus infected patients, gradually decreased along with the severity of liver disease symptoms.…”