miR-155 and miR-21 as Diagnostic and Therapeutic Biomarkers for Ulcerative Colitis: There Is Still a Long Way to Go
Danusia Onisor,
Olga Brusnic,
Claudia Banescu,
Claudia Carstea,
Maria Sasaran,
Mircea Stoian,
Calin Avram,
Adrian Boicean,
Alina Boeriu,
Daniela Dobru
Affiliations
Danusia Onisor
Department of Internal Medicine VII, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures, Gheorghe Marinescu Street No. 38, 540136 Targu Mures, Romania
Olga Brusnic
Department of Internal Medicine VII, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures, Gheorghe Marinescu Street No. 38, 540136 Targu Mures, Romania
Claudia Banescu
Genetics Department, Center for Advanced Medical and Pharmaceutical Research, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures, Gheorghe Marinescu Street No. 38, 540136 Targu Mures, Romania
Claudia Carstea
Genetics Department, Center for Advanced Medical and Pharmaceutical Research, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures, Gheorghe Marinescu Street No. 38, 540136 Targu Mures, Romania
Maria Sasaran
Department of Pediatrics III, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures, Gheorghe Marinescu Street No. 38, 540136 Targu Mures, Romania
Mircea Stoian
Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology of Targu Mures, 540139 Targu Mures, Romania
Calin Avram
Department of Medical Informatics and Biostatistics, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures, Gheorghe Marinescu Street No. 38, 540136 Targu Mures, Romania
Adrian Boicean
Faculty of Medicine, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, 550169 Sibiu, Romania
Alina Boeriu
Department of Internal Medicine VII, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures, Gheorghe Marinescu Street No. 38, 540136 Targu Mures, Romania
Daniela Dobru
Department of Internal Medicine VII, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures, Gheorghe Marinescu Street No. 38, 540136 Targu Mures, Romania
(1) Elucidating the role of miRNAs (miRs) in ulcerative colitis may provide new insights into disease pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring We aimed to investigate whether plasma levels of miR-21-5p and miR-155-5p may be used to differentiate between patients with organic disease such as ulcerative colitis (UC) and Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), and patients with functional disease such as irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D). (2) Serological samples were collected to quantify miR-155 and -21 expression, which was carried out through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), from 84 patients: 34 with acute UC (group 1), 17 with CDI (group 2), and 33 with IBS-D (control group). (3) In this study, we found that the expression levels of miR-155-5p were almost the same for the two conditions and the control group (UC: 4.22 ± 1.61, CDI: 3.94 ± 1.62, IBS-D: 4.26 ± 1.26), with no significant differences either for ΔCt- or for ΔΔCt-derived parameters (p = 0.74 and p = 0.73, respectively). For miR-21, ΔCt levels presented significantly higher values among the ulcerative colitis group (p < 0.01), but the most important expression fold change was noticed in patients with CDI (UC:4.11 ± 8,46, CDI: 4.94 ± 9.68, IBS-D: 2.83 ± 5.41). (4) Circulating miR-155 and miR-21 were upregulated in UC, CDI, and IBS-D, but differentiation was not possible among them. But their involvement in the pathogenesis of the three diseases makes them suitable for improving the accuracy of diagnosis and facilitating the development of personalized treatment strategies.
