Decreased Level of Blood MicroRNA-133b in Men with Opioid Use Disorder on Methadone Maintenance Therapy

Abstract

Although previous animal studies have indicated that certain micro ribonucleic acids (microRNAs) play a part in the pathway of opioid addiction, whether such findings extend to human models is yet unknown. This study aims to investigate the important microRNA expressions in patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) on methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) compared to healthy controls and analyze the correlation between microRNAs and opioid characteristics among the patients. We recruited 50 patients and 25 controls, and both groups were matched regarding gender, age, and body mass index. Serum microRNAs (miR-133b, miR-23b, miR-190, miR-206, miR-210, and miR-21) were measured. The age of OUD onset, duration of MMT participation, and recent daily methadone dosage were considered the opioid characteristics. We adopted the t-test to compare the difference between patients and controls and Pearson's correlation to evaluate the association between microRNAs and opioid profiles. Only the level of miR-133b in OUD patients on MMT was significantly lower than that in healthy controls. We did not detect differences of any other microRNA expressions between the two groups. Furthermore, we found no evidence to support the association between microRNAs and opioid characteristics. This study indicates that miR-133b values may be decreased in OUD patients on MMT.

Potential role of the lncRNA "HOTAIR"/miRNA "206"/BDNF network in the alteration in expression of synaptic plasticity gene arc and BDNF level in sera of patients with heroin use disorder through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway compared to the controls

“…In this study, a significant increase in miR-206 expression is observed, which is consistent with the analysis of Gu W-J et al [ 12 ], who stated steadily increased Let-7b-5p, miR-206, and miR-486-5p levels in heroin drug addicts. Similarly, Hsu et al [ 29 ] reported miR-206 and miR-210 overexpression in 50 opioid use disorder (OUD) patients who were receiving methionine medical treatment.…”

Adolescent Stress Reduces Adult Morphine-Induced Behavioral Sensitization in C57BL/6J Mice

“…Thus, researchers have looked at how miRNA are changed in response to drugs. One example from clinical literature is that specific miRNA are differentially expressed in patients with opioid use disorder compared to healthy controls ( Hsu et al, 2019 ). Here we suggest that exposure to stress in adolescence (in the absence of any drug exposure) also changes miRNA expression.…”

Epigenetic regulation in opioid induced hyperalgesia

“…Studies on miR-133b have found correlations to opioids and pain pathways. For example, miR-133b levels in blood were significantly decreased in men on methadone maintenance therapy who had a history of OUD compared to healthy controls ( Hsu and Tsai., 2019 ). miR-133b may also be involved in pain pathways of post-stroke rat models, as it was significantly downregulated in rats experiencing intense post-stroke pain.…”