Serum Extracellular Vesicle-Derived hsa-miR-2277-3p and hsa-miR-6813-3p Are Potential Biomarkers for Major Depression: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine the association between miRNA levels in extracellular vesicles (EVs) from serum and the severity of Major Depression (MD). Patient sera from 16 MD cases were collected at our university hospital. The miRNAs contained in EVs were extracted using a nanofiltration method, and their expression levels were analyzed using miRNA microarrays. Intergroup comparisons were performed to validate the diagnostic performance of miRNAs in EVs. Furthermore, candidate miRNAs in EVs were added to neural progenitor cells, astrocytes, and microglial cells in vitro, and the predicted target genes of the candidate miRNAs were extracted. The predicted target genes underwent enrichment analysis. The expression levels of hsa-miR-6813-3p and hsa-miR-2277-3p were significantly downregulated with increasing depression severity of MD. The pathway enrichment analysis suggests that hsa-miR-6813-3p may be involved in glucocorticoid receptor and gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor signaling. Additionally, hsa-miR-2277-3p was found to be involved in the dopaminergic neural pathway. The analysis of serum miRNAs in EVs suggests that hsa-miR-6813-3p and hsa-miR-2277-3p could serve as novel biomarkers for MD, reflecting its severity. Moreover, these miRNAs in EVs could help understand MD pathophysiology.

Visfatin Facilitates VEGF-D-Induced Lymphangiogenesis through Activating HIF-1α and Suppressing miR-2277-3p in Human Chondrosarcoma

“…In this study, we utilized miRNA software databases (miR-Walk: http://mirwalk.umm.uni-heidelberg.de; miRDB: https://mirdb.org; miRTarBase: https://mirtarbase.cuhk.edu.cn) to predict that miR-2277-3p interferes with VEGF-D transcription. miR-2277-3p was found to be involved in the dopaminergic neural pathway [43]. In addition, miR-2277-3p promotes colon cancer migration and invasion by targeting NUPR1 [44].…”

Exosomes: potential targets for the diagnosis and treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders

“…Among the many biomarkers, exosomal miRAN is a powerful tool for predicting psychiatric disorders [123][124][125][126], It can be identified by EVs in peripheral blood, and some studies have found that the content may be higher in the serum of patients [127][128][129]. Disease severity can also be reflected by miRNA levels in serum extracellular vesicles [130]. Subthreshold depression is a depressive state that does not meet the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder; however, subthreshold depression has the risk of progressing to MDD.…”