Elsevier

Neurobiology of Aging

Volume 55, July 2017, Pages 123-131
Neurobiology of Aging

Regular article
Serum miRNAs miR-206, 143-3p and 374b-5p as potential biomarkers for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2017.03.027Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Abstract

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal, neurodegenerative condition characterized by loss of motor neurones and progressive muscle wasting. There is no diagnostic test for ALS therefore robust biomarkers would not only be valuable for diagnosis, but also for the classification of disease subtypes, monitoring responses to drugs and tracking disease progression. As regulators of gene expression, microRNAs (miRNAs) are increasingly used for diagnostic and prognostic purposes in various disease states with increasing exploration in neurodegenerative disorders. We hypothesize that circulating blood-based miRNAs will serve as biomarkers and use miRNA profiling to determine miRNA signatures from the serum of sporadic ALS patients compared to healthy controls and patients with diseases that mimic ALS. A number of differentially expressed miRNAs were identified in each set of patient comparisons. Validation in an additional patient cohort showed that miR-206 and miR-143-3p were increased and miR-374b-5p was decreased compared to controls. A continued change in miRNA expression persisted during disease progression indicating the potential use of these particular miRNAs as longitudinal biomarkers in ALS.

Keywords

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Serum
MicroRNA
Polymerase chain reaction
Biomarker

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These authors made an equal contribution.