Expression Profile of Selected MicroRNAs in the Peripheral Blood of Multiple Sclerosis Patients: a Multivariate Statistical Analysis with ROC Curve to Find New Biomarkers for Fingolimod.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) as a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) has been associated with dysregulation of several genes including miRNAs. In the present study, we assessed transcript levels of seven miRNAs (miR-96-5p, miR-211-5p, miR-15a, miR-34a-5p, miR-204-5p, miR-501-5p, and miR-524-5p) in the peripheral blood of MS patients compared with healthy subjects in association with response to fingolimod treatment. Expression levels of miR-211-5p and miR-34a-5p were significantly decreased in MS patients compared with healthy subjects (P values of 0.002 and 0.47). While subgroup analysis showed downregulation of miR-211-5p in both fingolimod responders and non-responders, miR-34a-5p expression was only decreased in responders. Moreover, miR-204-5p was downregulated in non-responder male patients compared with male controls. The current study underscores the role of miRNAs in determination of response to fingolimod in MS patients.