Altered Expression of Circulating miR-377 and miR-98 in Relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) has been assumed to be a complex and indecipherable disease, and poorly understood with regard to etiology which is characterized by relapses and remissions. The expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) is known to be associated with the regulation of immune responses. Recently, investigations have reported that miRNA expression profiles in blood cells become changed in MS. The aim of this study was to elucidate the alterations in the expression of circulating miR-377 and miR-98 in 60 relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients in comparison with controls.

This study was conducted using a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction method to explore the expression of circulating miR-377 and miR-98 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 60 RRMS patients, 30 of whom were recurring patients, 30 were two months after relapse patients, and 30 others were controls, in order to examine the association of expression level of these miRNAs with RRMS.

Results indicated that the expression of miR-377 significantly increases in recurring patients and two months after relapse patients in comparison with controls (p=0.0017 and p=0.0001, respectively). However, miR-98 demonstrated down regulation in recurring patients and two months after relapse patients (p=0.0002 and p=0.0001, respectively).

It can be concluded that miR-377 and miR-98 may be prospective biomarkers with the potential use for diagnosis of RRMS patients in the future investigations.