Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience (Jun 2014)

Identification of circulating microRNAs for the differential diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and Multiple System Atrophy.

  • Annamaria eVallelunga,
  • Marco eRagusa,
  • Stefania eDi Mauro,
  • Tommaso eIannitti,
  • Manuela ePilleri,
  • Roberta eBiundo,
  • Luca eWeis,
  • Cinzia eDi Pietro,
  • Angela eDe Iuliis,
  • Alessandra eNicoletti,
  • Mario eZappia,
  • Michele ePurrello,
  • Angelo eAntonini

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2014.00156
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8

Abstract

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Background. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder which may be misdiagnosed with atypical conditions such as Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), due to overlapping clinical features. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs with a key role in post-transcriptional gene regulation. We hypothesized that identification of a distinct set of circulating miRNAs (cmiRNAs) could distinguish patients affected by PD from MSA and healthy individuals. Results. Using TaqMan Low Density Array technology, we analysed 754 miRNAs and found 9 cmiRNAs differentially expressed in PD and MSA patients compared to healthy controls. We also validated a set of 4 differentially expressed cmiRNAs in PD and MSA patients versus controls. More specifically, miR-339-5p was downregulated, whereas miR-223*, miR-324-3p and mir-24 were upregulated in both diseases. We found cmiRNAs specifically deregulated in PD (downregulation of miR-30c and miR-148b) and in MSA (upregulation of miR-148b). Finally, comparing MSA and PD, we identified 3 upregulated cmiRNAs in MSA serum (miR-24, miR-34b, miR-148b). Conclusions. Our results suggest that cmiRNA signatures discriminate PD from MSA patients and healthy controls and may be considered specific, non-invasive biomarkers for differential diagnosis.

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