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. 2023 Aug 29;23(1):631.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-023-05136-6.

MicroRNAs and pro-inflammatory cytokines as candidate biomarkers for recent-onset psychosis

Ali Reza Shafiee-Kandjani  1 , Negin Nezhadettehad  1 , Sara Farhang  2   3 , Richard Bruggeman  2 , Dariush Shanebandi  4 , Mohammadbagher Hassanzadeh  3 , Hosein Azizi  5   6
Affiliations

MicroRNAs and pro-inflammatory cytokines as candidate biomarkers for recent-onset psychosis

Ali Reza Shafiee-Kandjani et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Recent studies on the schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders showed that alternation of immune system components, particularly microRNAs (miRNAs) and pro-inflammatory compounds, plays a significant role in developing the illness. The study aimed to evaluate serum expression of the miRNA-26a, miRNA-106a, and miRNA-125b as genetic factors and serum levels of IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α as pro-inflammatory factors in an IranianAzeri population.

Methods: Forty patients with recent-onset non-affective psychosis and 40 healthy people as a control group were involved. Expression levels of miRNAs and serum levels of the cytokines were measured using RT-qPCR and ELISA, respectively. T-test, receiver operating characteristics (ROC), and spearman correlation coefficient were carried out data analysis.

Results: Findings showed higher levels of IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, miR-26a, and miR-106a in the plasma of the patients' group compared with the control. miRNA-26a showed a statistically significant higher level (p < .003) compared to the control group, with AUC = 0.84 (95% CI: 0.77 to 0.93, P < .001) and cut-off point = 0.17 in comparison to other miRNAs as mentioned above; in this regard, it might be a suggestive biomarker for schizophrenia in the early stage of the illness. Moreover, miRNAs' expression level was not substantially associated with the level of any measured cytokines above.

Conclusions: miR-26a might be a suggestive biomarker for schizophrenia in the early stage of the illness. Given that the relationship between other miRNAs and cytokines is not yet well understood; accordingly, there are encouragement and support for continued research in this fascinating field.

Keywords: Interleukin-1beta: Interleukin-6; Psychoneuroimmunology; Schizophrenia; Tumor necrosis factor-alpha; miRNAs.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
ROC of miR-26a gene expression in plasma (Left), the Plasma expression of miR-26a (Right). ROC of miRNA-26a with AUC = 0.8434 (P-value < 0.0001) Cut-off point 0.1726 demonstrated promising values. MiR-26a expression in plasma compared with the control group showed a statistically significant difference (P-value = .0003)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Correlation of miRNA-26a with cytokinesa. a There was not significantly correlated with any cytokines
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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