Identification of plasma microRNA expression changes in multiple system atrophy and Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous small (18–25 nt), single-stranded, non-coding RNAs that play key roles in post-transcriptional gene expression regulation. The expression profiles of miRNAs in biofluids and tissues change in various diseases. Multiple system atrophy (MSA) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) are both categorized as α-synucleinopathies and often present with similar clinical manifestations. This study aimed to identify miRNAs that are differently expressed in plasma samples of PD patients, MSA patients, and healthy controls. We used microarray analysis to screen for miRNAs that are up- and down-regulated in these patients and analyzed the relative-quantitative expression levels of the identified miRNAs by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Hsa-miR-671-5p, hsa-miR-19b-3p, and hsa-miR-24-3p showed significantly different expression levels among patients with MSA-C, MSA-P, or PD, and healthy controls. Hsa-miR-671-5p levels were lower in the MSA-P and PD than the MSA-C and control groups, hsa-miR-19b-3p levels were higher in the PD than the other groups, and hsa-miR-24-3p levels were higher in the PD than the MSA-C group. Hsa-miR-671-5p was the first miRNA shown to be expressed differently between MSA-C and MSA-P in plasma. Interestingly, the expression levels of hsa-miR-19b-3p and hsa-miR-24-3p were positively correlated, indicating that these miRNAs may be involved in the same processes in PD pathogenesis. Our findings suggest that hsa-miR-671-5p, hsa-miR-19b-3p, and hsa-miR-24-3p may reflect the pathophysiology or symptoms of PD and MSA. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13041-019-0471-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Transcriptomic differences in MSA clinical variants

“…Moreover, we also found that the expression profile in MSA-P seemed to share more gene sets with PD than with MSA-C, possibly in relation to clinical similarities. In line with our findings, a recent microRNA study 21 has also reported differential deregulation of microRNAs between the two MSA subtypes.…”

Exosomal miR-19b-3p communicates tubular epithelial cells and M1 macrophage

“…One study dissected that miR-19b-3p is significantly decreased in exosomes derived from cerebrospinal fluid in the patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) 2 . However, another study elucidated that plasma miR-19b-3p level is higher in the PD patients compared with healthy persons and multiple-system atrophy (MSA) patients, indicating that miR-19b-3p could be involved in pathophysiology or symptoms of PD and MSA 3 . Notably, miR-19b-3p is reported to be a potential candidate for prediction of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) 4 .…”

MicroRNA: A Key Player for the Interplay of Circadian Rhythm Abnormalities, Sleep Disorders and Neurodegenerative Diseases

“…The level of miR-24 expression is dysregulated in the serum of patients with MSA [202,203]. Interestingly, miR-24 binds to the 3 -UTR of Per2 and plays an important post-transcriptional regulatory role in the PER2 expression required for normal circadian timekeeping, as described above.…”