Quantitative real-time PCR analysis of circulating MicroRNA levels in blood samples from pediatric patients with epilepsy

IF 1 Q4 GENETICS & HEREDITY

Gene Reports Pub Date : 2025-04-02 DOI:10.1016/j.genrep.2025.102214

Haidar J. Muhammed , Marwa M. Al-Attar , Zainab Fayadh Shubrem , Mohanad Kareem Aneed Al-Saedi , Maryam Qasim Mohammed

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Epilepsy in childhood is common in the first year and its incidence decreases with age increase. The prevalence of epilepsy in Iraq was 1.0 per 1000 children according to a previous investigation. MicroRNAs play crucial roles in various biological processes, including brain development and function, and have emerged as potential key players in the complex pathophysiology of epilepsy. This study aimed to investigate the expression levels of miRNAs in their mature forms including miR-30a-5p and miR-577, in epilepsy patients and to explore their potential as biomarkers for the disease.

Methods

Eighty participants were enrolled in the study classified as (n = 40) Epilepsy patients along with (n = 40) as healthy controls (HCs). The miRNA was extracted from whole blood, converted to complementary DNA (cDNA) using a specialized kit, and quantified using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) for miR-30a-5p, miR-577, and the reference gene snRNA-U6.

Results

The results revealed a significant upregulation of miR-30a-5p in epilepsy patients compared to healthy controls with (p-value, 0.01). The miR-577 expression did not differ between groups (p-value, 0.2). A weak negative correlation between the two miRNAs was observed, suggesting a potential inverse correlation. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis indicated that miR-30a-5p may serve as a biomarker for epilepsy.

Conclusion

This study suggests that miR-30a-5p, showing upregulation and according to the ROC curve may act as an early epilepsy detection biomarker. Conversely, miR-577, despite a decrease in expression, is deemed unsuitable as a biomarker due to its lack of statistical significance and poor diagnostic performance.

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来源期刊

Gene Reports Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology-Genetics

CiteScore

3.30

自引率

7.70%

发文量

246

审稿时长

49 days

期刊介绍： Gene Reports publishes papers that focus on the regulation, expression, function and evolution of genes in all biological contexts, including all prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms, as well as viruses. Gene Reports strives to be a very diverse journal and topics in all fields will be considered for publication. Although not limited to the following, some general topics include: DNA Organization, Replication & Evolution -Focus on genomic DNA (chromosomal organization, comparative genomics, DNA replication, DNA repair, mobile DNA, mitochondrial DNA, chloroplast DNA). Expression & Function - Focus on functional RNAs (microRNAs, tRNAs, rRNAs, mRNA splicing, alternative polyadenylation) Regulation - Focus on processes that mediate gene-read out (epigenetics, chromatin, histone code, transcription, translation, protein degradation). Cell Signaling - Focus on mechanisms that control information flow into the nucleus to control gene expression (kinase and phosphatase pathways controlled by extra-cellular ligands, Wnt, Notch, TGFbeta/BMPs, FGFs, IGFs etc.) Profiling of gene expression and genetic variation - Focus on high throughput approaches (e.g., DeepSeq, ChIP-Seq, Affymetrix microarrays, proteomics) that define gene regulatory circuitry, molecular pathways and protein/protein networks. Genetics - Focus on development in model organisms (e.g., mouse, frog, fruit fly, worm), human genetic variation, population genetics, as well as agricultural and veterinary genetics. Molecular Pathology & Regenerative Medicine - Focus on the deregulation of molecular processes in human diseases and mechanisms supporting regeneration of tissues through pluripotent or multipotent stem cells.