Analysing miRNA-Target Gene Networks in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Other Complex Diseases Using Transcriptomic Data

Exploring the theranostic potentials of miRNA and epigenetic networks in autoimmune diseases: A comprehensive review

BACKGROUND

Autoimmune diseases (AD) are severe pathophysiological ailments that are stimulated by an exaggerated immunogenic response towards self-antigens, which can cause systemic or site-specific organ damage. An array of complex genetic and epigenetic facets majorly contributes to the progression of AD, thus providing significant insight into the regulatory mechanism of microRNA (miRNA). miRNAs are short, non-coding RNAs that have been identified as essential contributors to the post-transcriptional regulation of host genome expression and as crucial regulators of a myriad of biological processes such as immune homeostasis, T helper cell differentiation, central and peripheral tolerance, and immune cell development.

AIMS

This article tends to deliberate and conceptualize the brief pathogenesis and pertinent epigenetic regulatory mechanism as well as miRNA networks majorly affecting five different ADs namely rheumatoid arthritis (RA), type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis (MS), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and inflammatory bowel disorder (IBD) thereby providing novel miRNA-based theranostic interventions.

RESULTS & DISCUSSION

Pertaining to the differential expression of miRNA attributed in target tissues and cellular bodies of innate and adaptive immunity, a paradigm of scientific expeditions suggests an optimistic correlation between immunogenic dysfunction and miRNA alterations.

CONCLUSION

Therefore, it is not astonishing that dysregulations in miRNA expression patterns are now recognized in a wide spectrum of disorders, establishing themselves as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Owing to its theranostic potencies, miRNA targets have been widely utilized in the development of biosensors and other therapeutic molecules originating from the same.

Where Do We Stand in the Behavioral Pathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease? The Western Dietary Pattern and Microbiota-A Narrative Review

Despite the increasing knowledge with regard to IBD (inflammatory bowel disease), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), the etiology of these conditions is still not fully understood. Apart from immunological, environmental and nutritional factors, which have already been well documented, it is worthwhile to look at the possible impact of genetic factors, as well as the composition of the microbiota in patients suffering from IBD. New technologies in biochemistry allow to obtain information that can add to the current state of knowledge in IBD etiology.

Detection and Quantification of Immunoregulatory miRNAs in Human Milk and Infant Milk Formula

Mammary gland secretory cells produce miRNA-rich milk. In humans, these miRNAs reach infant/neonate bloodstream, playing diverse roles, like neural system development, metabolism, and immune system maturation. Notwithstanding, still few works explore human milk miRNA content, and there are no reports at the population level. Our hypothesis was that miR-146b-5p, miR148a-3p, miR155-5p, mir181a-5p, and mir200a-3p immunoregulatory miRNAs are expressed in human colostrum/milk at a higher level than infant milk formulae. The aim of this work was to evaluate the expression of the five immunoregulatory miRNAs in human milk and compare it with their expression in infant milk formula. For this purpose, miRNA relative expression was measured by qPCR in cDNA prepared from total RNA extracted from sixty human colostrum/milk samples and six different formulae. The comparative Cт method 2^−ΔCт using exogenous cel-miR-39 as internal control was employed, followed by statistical analysis. We found the relative expression levels of miRNAs are comparable among colostrum/milk samples, and these miRNAs are present in infant milk formulae but at very low concentrations. We conclude that the relative expression of the immunomodulatory miRNAs is comparable in all the human colostrum/milk samples and is higher than the expression in formulae.