Elevated circulating miR-150 and miR-342-3p in patients with irritable bowel syndrome

Abstract

Background and Aims MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs, which regulate gene expression and are thus of interest as diagnostic markers, and as clues to etiology and targets of intervention. This pilot study examined whether circulating miRNAs are differentially expressed in patients with IBS. Methods miRNA microarrays (Nanostring) were run on the whole blood of 43 participants. Results hsa-miR-150 and hsa-miR-342-3p were found to be significantly elevated (FDR adjusted p ≤ 0.05, ≥1.6 fold change) in IBS patients compared to healthy controls. Neither of these miRNAs showed any relationship to race or sex. hsa-miR-150 is associated with inflammatory bowel disorders and pain, and interacts with a protein kinase (AKT2) through which it may affect inflammatory pathways. hsa-miR-342-3p is predicted to interact with mRNAs involved in pain signaling, colonic motility, and smooth muscle function. Conclusions This preliminary study reports the association of two miRNAs, detected in whole blood, with IBS. These miRNAs link to pain and inflammatory pathways both of which are thought to be dysregulated in IBS. Larger samples sizes are needed to confirm their importance and potential as biomarkers.

MiR-144 Increases Intestinal Permeability in IBS-D Rats by Targeting OCLN and ZO1

“…It has been reported that differential expression of several miRNAs may be correlated with inflammation [29], peripheral circulation [30], immunomodulatory [31], gut microbiota [32], and other processes that are involved in the pathogenesis of IBS-D. For example, Bitar [31] found that miR-155 was expressed in the duodenal epithelium at the acute stage of cholera and could limit the innate immune response of the host, including the inflammation evoked by its own secreted factors. Mansour’s research [32] showed that decreased expression of miR-199b would lead to an increased coliform count.…”

Perturbations of Circulating miRNAs in Irritable Bowel Syndrome Detected Using a Multiplexed High-throughput Gene Expression Platform

“…Currently, there are no generally accepted diagnostic biomarkers for IBS (i.e., the diagnosis is based on clinical symptoms and ruling out other organic disorders, such as GI malignancy, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, and gastrointestinal (GI) infections). When studying gene expression profiles in common conditions with subclinical histopathology, such as IBS, high sensitivity and accuracy (reproducibility) are needed, as perturbations in gene expression profiles are often subtle [1][2][3] . miRNAs have been identified as both diagnostic and functional targets in IBS 4,5 , and we are particularly interested in assessing their use as circulating biomarkers of IBS-associated biological perturbations 3,4,6,7 .…”

“…When studying gene expression profiles in common conditions with subclinical histopathology, such as IBS, high sensitivity and accuracy (reproducibility) are needed, as perturbations in gene expression profiles are often subtle [1][2][3] . miRNAs have been identified as both diagnostic and functional targets in IBS 4,5 , and we are particularly interested in assessing their use as circulating biomarkers of IBS-associated biological perturbations 3,4,6,7 . The clinical utilization of circulating biomarkers is of current interest due to the ease and minimally invasive nature of the collection of the biomarkers' source (e.g., peripheral blood) from patients.…”

miRNA assays in the clinical laboratory: workflow, detection technologies and automation aspects

“…nCounter miRNA panels have been utilized to differentiate between normal and disease states in cancer [70], neurodegeneration [71], and bowel syndrome [72]. Moreover, respective panels have been successfully used for stratification of patients [73][74][75].…”