MicroRNA expression profile is altered in the upper airway skeletal muscle tissue of patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the involvement of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the pathogenesis of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS).

METHODS

In this study, we investigated miRNA profiles in the upper airway (UA) skeletal muscles of four patients with OSAHS and four matched controls using the miRCURY miRNA array. In another cohort of 12 OSAHS cases and 7 controls, the mRNA expression levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and Lin-28 homolog A (Lin28A), targets of the downregulated let-7 family members, were measured by real-time quantitative-PCR. The potential targets of the miRNAs were predicted by miRNA target prediction databases miRanda, Microcosm, and Targetscan.

RESULTS

The array identified 370 differentially expressed miRNAs, of which 181 were upregulated and 189 were downregulated in OSAHS patients (based on a fold-change >2.0 and  < 0.05). Upregulation of IL-6 and Lin28A was validated by quantitative reverse transcription PCR. The 612 targets predicted by all three algorithms were subjected to gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses. The results revealed perturbations in signaling pathways and cellular functions.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated profoundly altered miRNA expression profiles in upper airway muscular tissues of patients with OSAHS, which might contribute to the formation and development of OSAHS.