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Review
. 2017:2017:4072364.
doi: 10.1155/2017/4072364. Epub 2017 Jan 16.

The Potential of MicroRNAs as Novel Biomarkers for Transplant Rejection

Matthias Hamdorf  1 , Satoru Kawakita  1 , Matthew Everly  1
Affiliations
Review

The Potential of MicroRNAs as Novel Biomarkers for Transplant Rejection

Matthias Hamdorf et al. J Immunol Res. 2017.

Abstract

The control of gene expression by microRNAs (miRNAs, miR) influences many cellular functions, including cellular differentiation, cell proliferation, cell development, and functional regulation of the immune system. Recently, miRNAs have been detected in serum, plasma, and urine and circulating miR profiles have been associated with a variety of diseases. Rejection is one of the major causes of allograft failure and preventing and treating acute rejection are the central task for clinicians working with transplant patients. Invasive biopsies used in monitoring rejection are burdensome and risky to transplant patients. Novel and easily accessible biomarkers of acute rejection could make it possible to detect rejection earlier and make more fine-tuned calibration of immunosuppressive or new target treatment possible. In this review, we discuss whether circulating miRNA can serve as an early noninvasive diagnostic biomarker and an expression fingerprint of allograft rejection and transplant failure. Understanding the regulatory interplay of relevant miRNAs and the rejecting allograft will result in a better understanding of the molecular pathophysiology of alloimmune injury.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Biogenesis and release of miRNAs. Pri-miRNAs are transcribed in the nucleus by RNA polymerase II/III and processed by the ribonuclease Drosha into hairpin RNAs (pre-miRNA). The stem loops are exported into the cytoplasm using Exportin 5 and Ran-GTP and further cleaved by Dicer to yield 21–23 nucleotide duplexes. The duplexes are unwound and can be loaded directly into the RISC complex and guide translational repression of target mRNAs or they can be released from the cells in protein complexes, bound to lipoproteins, packed in microvesicles, or secreted in exosomes.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of overlapping miRs in the different studies. Color-labeled miRs indicate a miRNA shared by 2 (green) and 3 (red) organs, respectively. The number in parentheses represents nonoverlapping miRNAs detected for the corresponding organ.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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