Identification of a novel salivary biomarker miR‐143‐3p for periodontal diagnosis: A proof of concept study

Abstract

Background Though the use of salivary miRNAs as potential biomarkers has been reported in few diseases/conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and oral cancer, there are no reported studies on their utility in periodontal diagnostics. Thus, the aim of the present study was to profile salivary miRNAs and identify the most suitable salivary miRNA biomarker in chronic periodontitis. Methods In this study, we have explored the potential application of next generation sequencing (NGS) technology for profiling miRNAs in two unstimulated saliva samples collected by passive drool method from a patient diagnosed with generalized chronic periodontitis and a healthy control. Subsequently, the validation of most highly expressed known miRNA in periodontitis was performed in saliva samples collected from an independent set of 16 chronic periodontitis patients and 16 periodontally healthy controls using quantitative real‐time PCR (qRT‐PCR). Target gene prediction and pathway mapping were performed using bioinformatic tools. Results NGS analysis identified 40 upregulated and 40 downregulated known miRNAs in chronic periodontitis compared to healthy controls, of which miR‐143‐3p was the most highly expressed miRNA in periodontitis (Read count – 227630; fold change – 5.82). Validation using qRT‐PCR showed significant upregulation of miR‐143‐3p expression in the test group compared with controls (P < 0.05). K‐RAS (V‐Ki‐ras2 Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene) gene was predicted as the target gene for miR‐143‐3p in humans. KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of genes and genomes) pathway mapping revealed the involvement of K‐RAS in mitogen‐activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathway. Conclusions The application of NGS for miRNA expression profiling can be considered a valuable tool in detection of novel biomarkers in periodontal diagnostics. Also, the results of the study points to the potential utility of miR143‐3p as a novel salivary biomarker for chronic periodontitis.

Expression of MicroRNAs in Periodontal and Peri-Implant Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Although most research identified different expression levels of miRNAs in periodontal and peri-implant diseases compared to their counterparts, their actual role in the pathogenesis of these conditions remains unclear. Conversely, miRNAs have been proposed as valuable future diagnostics tools in periodontal and peri-implant diseases as high-quality miRNAs are reportedly detectable in oral fluids [11][12][13].…”

Immune landscape of periodontitis unveils alterations of infiltrating immunocytes and molecular networks-aggregating into an interactive web-tool for periodontitis related immune analysis and visualization

“…High-throughput data were widely used in various elds including periodontitis. Yuko et al used methylation array to identify periodontal disease-related methylation sites [12], K et al used miRNA array detecting miR143-3p as a novel salivary biomarker for chronic periodontitis [13], and M et al used gene array identifying distinct periodontitis subtypes [14]. However, in these studies high-throughput data were not fully used, only routine analysis has been performed and only a little useful information was generated from the numerous results.…”

The Impact of Diet, Nutrition and Nutraceuticals on Oral and Periodontal Health

“…These polymorphisms are variations in the genetic code that can have different effects, for example, changing the levels of gene expression, causing slight functional changes of the coded molecules, making individuals more susceptible to the onset of a certain disease or to the appearance of clinical pictures more serious than the disease itself [9].…”