Intraindividual variation of microRNA expression levels in plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells and the associations of these levels with the pathogenesis of autoimmune thyroid diseases
Abstract
Background:
microRNAs (miRNAs) circulate in the blood and negatively regulate the expression of mRNAs. Some miRNAs are associated with the development of autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD); however, there are few reports on the association between miRNA expression and the pathogenesis of AITD or the physiological variations of circulating miRNAs, which are important to examine as biomarkers.
Methods:
We examined the circadian and day-to-day variations in the expression levels of 5 miRNAs (miR-125a, miR-146a, miR-155, let-7e and miR-106a) in plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). We also analysed the expression levels of two of these miRNAs (miR-146a and miR-155) in 20 healthy controls, 60 Graves’ disease (GD) patients and 50 Hashimoto’s disease (HD) patients.
Results:
For each miRNA, we observed wide intraindividual variation [coefficient of variation value (CV): 70%–100%] compared to measurement error (CV: 20%–40%). In patients with AITD, HD, GD in remission and mild HD, the expression levels of miR-146a in PBMC were increased 296%, 328%, 348% and 464% above the levels in healthy controls, respectively (p=0.0443 and p=0.0273, p=0.0267 and p=0.0052, respectively). In severe HD, the expression level of miR-155 in plasma was increased to 347% of that in healthy controls (p=0.0256).
Conclusions:
The expression levels of miRNAs in plasma and PBMC showed wide intraindividual variation. In addition, miR-146a may be associated with the development of AITD.
Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Research funding: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Grant/Award number: KAKENHI 26293128).
Employment or leadership: None declared.
Honorarium: None declared.
Competing interests: The funding organization(s) played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.
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©2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Not all good things come in big packages
- Pre-analytical and Analytical Issues of miRNA Measurement
- Variability in, variability out: best practice recommendations to standardize pre-analytical variables in the detection of circulating and tissue microRNAs
- Pitfalls of analysis of circulating miRNA: role of hematocrit
- Intraindividual variation of microRNA expression levels in plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells and the associations of these levels with the pathogenesis of autoimmune thyroid diseases
- miRNA assays in the clinical laboratory: workflow, detection technologies and automation aspects
- Clinical Applications of the Different Circulating Forms of miRNAs
- The role of extracellular vesicle microRNAs in cancer biology
- The clinical significance of platelet microparticle-associated microRNAs
- microRNAs in lipoprotein and lipid metabolism: from biological function to clinical application
- microRNAs in cardiovascular disease – clinical application
- miRNAs in Cancer
- Non-coding RNAs: the cancer genome dark matter that matters!
- miRNAs as novel biomarkers in the management of prostate cancer
- Upregulated miR-16 expression is an independent indicator of relapse and poor overall survival of colorectal adenocarcinoma patients
- Identification of a novel microRNA, miR-4449, as a potential blood based marker in multiple myeloma
- miRNA analysis in pancreatic cancer: the Dartmouth experience
- miRNAs and Genomic
- miRNAs, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Not all good things come in big packages
- Pre-analytical and Analytical Issues of miRNA Measurement
- Variability in, variability out: best practice recommendations to standardize pre-analytical variables in the detection of circulating and tissue microRNAs
- Pitfalls of analysis of circulating miRNA: role of hematocrit
- Intraindividual variation of microRNA expression levels in plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells and the associations of these levels with the pathogenesis of autoimmune thyroid diseases
- miRNA assays in the clinical laboratory: workflow, detection technologies and automation aspects
- Clinical Applications of the Different Circulating Forms of miRNAs
- The role of extracellular vesicle microRNAs in cancer biology
- The clinical significance of platelet microparticle-associated microRNAs
- microRNAs in lipoprotein and lipid metabolism: from biological function to clinical application
- microRNAs in cardiovascular disease – clinical application
- miRNAs in Cancer
- Non-coding RNAs: the cancer genome dark matter that matters!
- miRNAs as novel biomarkers in the management of prostate cancer
- Upregulated miR-16 expression is an independent indicator of relapse and poor overall survival of colorectal adenocarcinoma patients
- Identification of a novel microRNA, miR-4449, as a potential blood based marker in multiple myeloma
- miRNA analysis in pancreatic cancer: the Dartmouth experience
- miRNAs and Genomic
- miRNAs, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD)