Department of Medical Immunology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
Immunology, Asthma and Allergy Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2021 Apr 17;20(2):160-168.
Exosomes are extracellular vesicles that are involved in intracellular communication and different biological processes. Recently, the importance of microRNAs (miRNAs) in exosomes has been considered as biomarkers in asthma diagnosis. This study aimed to determine the expression of selective miRNAs from plasma-derived exosomes in moderate and severe asthmatic patients compared with healthy controls. Forty-six subjects including 22 patients with severe and mild to moderate allergic asthma and 24 healthy controls have entered this study. MiRNAs were extracted from the plasma exosomes and selective miRNAs (miR-21, miR-16, miR-Let7, miR-148a, miR-155, miR-125, miR-150, miR-146a, miR-223, miR-126) expressions levels were determined; using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). In this study, we found a significant up-regulation of miR-223 and miR-21 in moderate asthmatic patients compared to the healthy controls (p=0.002, p=0.006). MiR-223 and miR-21 had the probability of 83% and 76% diagnosis estimation in moderate asthmatic patients respectively. Therefore, they could be used as biomarkers in these patients. No expression of miR-125, miR-126, and miR-155 was found in plasma exosomes by qPCR in this study. The other miRNAs had no significant expression between different groups. Based on our findings,miR-223 and miR-21 may be considered biomarkers or used for targeted immunotherapies in asthma.
外泌体是参与细胞内通讯和不同生物学过程的细胞外囊泡。最近，microRNAs（miRNAs）在外泌体中的重要性被认为是哮喘诊断的生物标志物。本研究旨在比较中重度哮喘患者与健康对照者血浆来源外泌体中选择性 miRNAs 的表达。本研究共纳入 46 例受试者，包括 22 例中重度和轻度至中度过敏性哮喘患者和 24 例健康对照者。从血浆外泌体中提取 miRNA，采用定量聚合酶链反应（qPCR）检测选择性 miRNAs（miR-21、miR-16、miR-Let7、miR-148a、miR-155、miR-125、miR-150、miR-146a、miR-223、miR-126）的表达水平。本研究发现，与健康对照组相比，中重度哮喘患者血浆外泌体中 miR-223 和 miR-21 的表达水平显著上调（p=0.002，p=0.006）。miR-223 和 miR-21 对中重度哮喘患者的诊断估计概率分别为 83%和 76%。因此，它们可以作为这些患者的生物标志物。本研究通过 qPCR 未在血浆外泌体中检测到 miR-125、miR-126 和 miR-155 的表达。其他 miRNAs 在不同组间无明显差异。基于我们的研究结果，miR-223 和 miR-21 可作为哮喘的生物标志物或用于靶向免疫治疗。
