Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry (Jun 2022)

Biomarker potential of hsa-miR-145-5p in peripheral whole blood of manic bipolar I patients

  • Sevinç Sürer Tekin,
  • Mehmet Emin Erdal,
  • Mehmet Asoğlu,
  • Özlem İzci Ay,
  • Mustafa Ertan Ay,
  • Şenay Görücü Yılmaz

DOI
https://doi.org/10.47626/1516-4446-2021-2260

Abstract

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Objective: Bipolar I disorder (BD-I) is a type of bipolar spectrum disorder characterized by manic or mixed episodes. Detecting microRNA regulations as epigenetic actors in BD-I is important to elucidate the pathogenesis of the disease and reveal the potential of microRNAs (miRNAs) as biomarkers. Methods: We evaluated the expression profile of six candidate miRNAs (hsa-miR-145-5p, hsa-miR-376a-3p, hsa-miR-3680-5p, hsa-miR-4253-5p, hsa-miR-4482-3p, and hsa-miR-4725) in patients with BD-I and in healthy controls (aged 11-50 years). We also determined the potential target genes of these miRNAs through in silico analysis. The diagnostic values of the miRNAs were calculated through receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Results: Four miRNAs were upregulated (hsa-miR-376a-3p, hsa-miR-3680-5p, hsa-miR-4253-5p, hsa-miR-4482-3p) and hsa-miR-145-5p was downregulated in patients (p < 0.001). The target gene analyses showed that hsa-miR-145-5p specifically targets the dopamine decarboxylase (DDC) gene. The area under the curve of hsa-miR-145-5p was 0.987. Conclusion: Differential expression of five miRNAs in peripheral blood may be associated with the pathogenesis of BD-I, and hsa-miR-145-5p has potential as a BD-I biomarker. This miRNA can be used in dopamine-serotonin regulation and dose adjustment in drug therapy via the DDC gene.

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