miRNA profiling of granulosa cell-derived exosomes reveals their role in promoting follicle development

To explore whether granulosa cell (GC)-derived exosomes (GC-Exos) and follicular fluid-derived exosomes (FF-Exos) have functional similarities in follicle development and to establish relevant experiments to validate whether GC-Exos could serve as a potential substitute for follicular fluid-derived exosomes to improve folliculogenesis. GC-Exos were characterized. MicroRNA (miRNA) profiles of exosomes from human GCs and follicular fluid were analyzed in depth. The signature was associated with folliculogenesis, such as phosphatidylinositol 3 kinases-protein kinase B signal pathway, mammalian target of rapamycin signal pathway, mitogen-activated protein kinase signal pathway, Wnt signal pathway, and cyclic adenosine monophosphate signal pathway. A total of five prominent miRNAs were found to regulate the above five signaling pathways. These miRNAs include miRNA-486-5p, miRNA-10b-5p, miRNA-100-5p, miRNA-99a-5p, and miRNA-21-5p. The exosomes from GCs and follicular fluid were investigated to explore the effect on folliculogenesis by injecting exosomes into older mice. The proportion of follicles at each stage is counted to help us understand folliculogenesis. Exosomes derived from GCs were isolated successfully. miRNA profiles demonstrated a remarkable overlap between the miRNA profiles of FF-Exos and GC-Exos. The shared miRNA signature exhibited a positive influence on follicle development and activation. Furthermore, exosomes derived from GCs and follicular fluid promoted folliculogenesis in older female mice. Exosomes derived from GCs had similar miRNA profiles and follicle-promoting functions as follicular fluid exosomes. Consequently, GC-Exos are promising for replacing FF-Exos and developing new commercial reagents to improve female fertility.

miRNA expression profile changes in the peripheral blood of monozygotic discordant twins for epithelial ovarian carcinoma: potential new biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognosis of ovarian carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Ovarian cancer is the second most common gynecologic cancer with high mortality rate and generally diagnosed in advanced stages. The 5-year disease-free survival is below 40%. MicroRNAs, subset of the non-coding RNA molecules, regulate the translation in post transcriptional level by binding to specific mRNAs to promote or degrade the target oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. Abnormal expression of miRNAs were found in numerous human cancer, including ovarian cancer. Investigating the miRNAs derived from the peripheral blood samples can be used as a marker in the diagnose, treatment and prognosis of ovarian cancer. We aimed to find biological markers for early diagnosis of ovarian cancer by investigating BRCA1 gene mutation carrier monozygotic discordant twins and their high risk healthy family individual's miRNAs.

METHODS

The study was conducted on monozygotic twins discordant for ovarian cancer, and the liquid biopsy exploration of miRNAs was performed on mononuclear cells that were isolated from the peripheral blood samples. The miRNA expression profile changes in the study were found by using microarray analysis. miRNA isolation procedure performed from the lymphocyte in accordance with the kit protocol. The presence and quality of the isolated miRNAs screened by electrophoresis. Raw data logarithmic analysis was studied by identifying the threshold, normalization, correlation, mean and median values. Target proteins were detected for each miRNA by using different algorithms.

RESULTS

After the comparison of monozygotic discordant twins for epithelial ovarian carcinoma upregulation of the 4 miRNAs, miR-6131, miR-1305, miR-197-3p, miR-3651 and downregulation of 4 miRNAs, miR-3135b, miR-4430, miR-664b-5p, miR-766-3p were found statically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

The detected 99 miRNAs out of 2549 miRNAs might be used in the clinic as new biological indicators in the diagnosis and follow up of epithelial ovarian cancer with complementary studies. The miRNA expression profiles were identified to be statistically significant in the evaluation of ovarian cancer etiology, BRCA1 mutation status, and ovarian cancer risk in accordance with the obtained data. There is a need for validation of the miRNAs which were particularly detected between monozygotic twins and its association with ovarian cancer was emphasized in our study in wider cohorts including ovarian cancer patients, and healthy individuals.

Correlation of microRNA expression profile with clinical response to tumor necrosis factor inhibitor in treating rheumatoid arthritis patients: A prospective cohort study

Background

This study aimed to explore the correlation of circulating microRNA (miRNA) expression profile with clinical response to tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

Methods

Baseline PBMC samples from eight responders and eight non‐responders after 24‐week TNF inhibitor (etanercept) treatment were subjected to miRNA microarray. Then, top 10 dysregulated miRNAs were selected and further validated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in baseline PBMC samples from 92 RA patients treated with 24‐week TNF inhibitor (etanercept). Responders and non‐responders were divided referring to the decline in disease activity score in 28 joints.

Results

In microarray assay, total 59 upregulated and 78 downregulated miRNAs were identified in responders compared to non‐responders, which were mainly enriched in regulating immune‐ and inflammation‐related biological processes and pathways. The top 10 dysregulated miRNAs were as follows: miR‐192‐5p, miR‐146a‐5p, miR‐19b‐3p, miR‐320c, miR‐335‐5p, miR‐149‐3p, miR‐766‐3p, let‐7a‐5p, miR‐24‐3p, and miR‐1226‐5p. In qPCR validation, miR‐146a‐5p was increased, while let‐7a‐5p was decreased in responders compared with non‐responders. Multivariate logistic analysis illuminated that miR‐146a‐5p and CRP independently correlated with higher clinical response, while let‐7a‐5p and biologics history independently associated with lower clinical response. Subsequently, receiver operating characteristic curve showed that combination of these four independent factors presented with a great predictive value for clinical response with area under curve: 0.863, 95% CI 0.781‐0.945.

Conclusion

miRNA expression profile is closely implicated in the treatment efficacy of TNF inhibitor, and combined measurement of miR‐146a‐5p, let‐7a‐5p, CRP, and biologics history disclosed a great predictive value for clinical response to TNF inhibitor in RA patients.

Understanding regulation of microRNAs on intestine regeneration in the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus using high-throughput sequencing

The sea cucumber, as a member of the Echinodermata, has the capacity to restore damaged organs and body parts, which has always been a key scientific issue. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of short noncoding RNAs, play important roles in regulating gene expression. In the present study, we applied high-throughput sequencing to investigate alterations of miRNA expression in regenerative intestine compared to normal intestine. A total of 73 differentially expressed miRNAs were obtained, including 59 up-regulated miRNAs and 14 down-regulated miRNAs. Among these molecules, Aja-miR-1715-5p, Aja-miR-153, Aja-miR-252a, Aja-miR-153-5p, Aja-miR-252b, Aja-miR-2001, Aja-miR-64d-3p, and Aja-miR-252-5p were differentially expressed over 10-fold at 3days post-evisceration (dpe). Notably, real-time PCR revealed that Aja-miR-1715-5p was up-regulated 1390-fold at 3dpe. Moreover, putative target gene co-expression analyses, gene ontology, and pathway analyses suggest that these miRNAs play important roles in specific cellular events (cell proliferation, migration, and apoptosis), metabolic regulation, and energy redistribution. These results will provide a basis for future studies of miRNA regulation in sea cucumber regeneration.

MicroRNAs: a novel promising therapeutic target for cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury?

To determine the molecular mechanism of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury, we examined the microRNA (miRNA) expression profile in rat cortex after focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury using miRNA microarrays and bioinformatic tools to systematically analyze Gene Ontology (GO) function classifications, as well as the signaling pathways of genes targeted by these differentially expressed miRNAs. Our results show significantly changed miRNA expression profiles in the reperfusion period after focal cerebral ischemia, with a total of 15 miRNAs up-regulated and 44 miRNAs down-regulated. Target genes of these differentially expressed miRNAs were mainly involved in metabolic and cellular processes, which were identified as hub nodes of a miRNA-GO-network. The most correlated pathways included D-glutamine and D-glutamate metabolism, the renin-angiotensin system, peroxisomes, the PPAR signaling pathway, SNARE interactions in vesicular transport, and the calcium signaling pathway. Our study suggests that miRNAs play an important role in the pathological process of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. Understanding miRNA expression and function may shed light on the molecular mechanism of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury.