Huang Ying, Li Xihan, Tao Gaojian, Zhu Tong, Lin Jian
Department of Pain, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province Central Laboratory, Nanjing Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital, Affiliated Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Medicine (Baltimore). 2017 Feb;96(8):e5997. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000005997.
Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is commonly defined as pain persisting for at least 3 months after acute herpes zoster (AHZ) rash presentation. About one-tenth of all acute herpes zoster patients develop PHN. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are promising biomarkers for infectious diseases; however, there has been no relationship established between circulating miRNAs and PHN to date; the aim of the present investigation was to elucidate this relationship.We compared serum levels of miRNA in PHN and AHZ patients. Twenty-nine patients with PHN and 37 patients with AHZ participated. MiRNA serum levels were determined via TaqMan Low Density Array (TLDA) and confirmed individually by RT-qPCR.TLDA results showed that the expression levels of 157 serum miRNAs in PHN patients were distinct from those in AHZ patients. Among these PHN patient serum miRNAs, 17 were upregulated and 139 were downregulated in contrast to those in AHZ patients. Receiver operational characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and RT-qPCR results altogether confirmed that the levels of miR-34c-5p, miR-107, miR-892b, miR-486-3p, and miR-127-5p were notably increased in PHN patients in comparison with those of AHZ patients. These miRNAs in circulation may regulate numerous relevant pathways. A few likely participate in the nervous system and inflammatory reactions.This study is the first to show that the expression profiles of numerous miRNAs vary in the PHN process. Among these, 5 types of serum miRNAs are very likely related to PHN development.
带状疱疹后神经痛（PHN）通常被定义为急性带状疱疹（AHZ）皮疹出现后持续至少3个月的疼痛。所有急性带状疱疹患者中约有十分之一会发展为PHN。循环微RNA（miRNA）是有前景的传染病生物标志物；然而，迄今为止，循环miRNA与PHN之间尚未建立联系；本研究的目的是阐明这种关系。我们比较了PHN患者和AHZ患者的血清miRNA水平。29例PHN患者和37例AHZ患者参与了研究。通过TaqMan低密度阵列（TLDA）测定miRNA血清水平，并通过RT-qPCR单独进行确认。TLDA结果显示，PHN患者中157种血清miRNA的表达水平与AHZ患者不同。在这些PHN患者血清miRNA中，与AHZ患者相比，17种上调，139种下调。受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线分析和RT-qPCR结果共同证实，与AHZ患者相比，PHN患者中miR-34c-5p、miR-107、miR-892b、miR-486-3p和miR-127-5p的水平显著升高。这些循环中的miRNA可能调节众多相关途径。其中一些可能参与神经系统和炎症反应。本研究首次表明，众多miRNA的表达谱在PHN过程中有所不同。其中，5种血清miRNA很可能与PHN的发展有关。
