Expression of Salivary miR-203a-3p Was Related with Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Healthy Volunteers

Abstract

Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) is a multidimensional construct that involves subjective evaluation of an individual’s oral health. Although it is difficult to evaluate OHRQoL biologically, recently, it has been reported that circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) in several body fluids could reflect various health conditions. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate whether salivary miRNAs expression differs according to OHRQoL in healthy volunteers. Forty-six volunteers (median age, 23.0 years) were recruited, and their OHRQoL was assessed using the Japanese version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-J). Then, we compared salivary microRNA profiles of the high-OHRQoL group (≤25th percentile score of OHIP-J) and the low-OHRQoL group (≥75th percentile score of OHIP-J) using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) array and the quantitative real-time PCR. There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of oral health status. In the PCR array, miR-203a-3p and miR-30b-5p were significantly more expressed in the low-OHRQoL group (p < 0.05). Quantitative real-time PCR assay also showed that miR-203a-3p was more highly expressed in the low-OHRQoL group than in the high-OHRQoL group (p < 0.05). These observations suggest that expression of salivary miR-203a-3p was related with OHRQoL in healthy volunteers.

The Practicality of the Use of Liquid Biopsy in Early Diagnosis and Treatment Monitoring of Oral Cancer in Resource-Limited Settings

“…Meanwhile, many biomarker proteins of oral malignancies, such as heat shock proteins (HSPs) [ 45 , 46 , 47 ], and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) [ 48 ], have been discovered in EVs. Thus, microRNAs in EVs of saliva could also be important molecules for early detection of oral malignancies distinct from aging [ 49 ], periodontitis [ 49 , 50 ], and state of health [ 51 ].…”

Organoids and Liquid Biopsy in Oral Cancer Research

“…Many protein biomarkers of oral cancers have been found from EVs, including epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) [ 17 ] and heat shock proteins (HSPs) [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Salivary microRNAs in EVs may be also key molecules for early diagnosis of oral cancers distinguished from periodontitis [ 5 ], aging [ 21 ], and health status [ 22 ].…”