Swiss Institute of Equine Medicine, Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Departement of Zoonoses, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Vet Res Commun. 2023 Jan;47(1):87-98. doi: 10.1007/s11259-022-09930-7. Epub 2022 Apr 28.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been proposed as biomarkers for equine sarcoid (ES) disease. In this study, the suitability of three whole blood miRNAs to diagnose ES and to predict and monitor the outcome of therapy was explored. Using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), expression levels of eca-miR-127, eca-miR-379, and eca-miR-432 in whole blood of ES-affected equids before and at least one year after therapy were compared to those of unaffected control equids. Associations of age, sex, species, diagnosis, and therapy outcome with miRNA expression levels were examined using general linear models. In total, 48 ES-affected equids and 47 control equids were recruited. From the affected animals, 31 responded favorably to treatment, and 17 demonstrated a failure of therapy. None of the tested miRNAs were influenced by age. Male equids showed increased expression of eca-miR-127 compared to females and horses showed higher expression levels of eca-miR-379 and eca-miR-432 than donkeys. Eca-miR-127 was confirmed as a diagnostic discriminator between ES-affected and control equids. No difference in miRNA profiles before therapy was found when comparing ES-affected equids with success vs. failure of therapy. Eca-miR-379 and eca-miR-432 decreased over time in horses where therapy was successful, but not in those cases where it failed. Biological variables influence equine whole blood miRNA expression, which may complicate biomarker validation. While none of the tested miRNAs could predict the response to therapy in ES-affected equids and eca-miR-127 showed poor diagnostic accuracy for ES, eca-miR-379 and eca-miR-432 miRNAs might allow refinement of monitoring of success of ES therapy.
微小 RNA（miRNAs）被提议作为马结节病（ES）疾病的生物标志物。在这项研究中，探讨了三种全血 miRNA 用于诊断 ES 以及预测和监测治疗结果的适用性。使用反转录定量聚合酶链反应（RT-qPCR），比较了治疗前后 ES 受影响的马的全血中 eca-miR-127、eca-miR-379 和 eca-miR-432 的表达水平与未受影响的对照马。使用一般线性模型检查年龄、性别、物种、诊断和治疗结果与 miRNA 表达水平的关联。共招募了 48 头 ES 受影响的马和 47 头对照马。在受影响的动物中，31 头对治疗反应良好，17 头治疗失败。测试的 miRNA 均不受年龄影响。雄性马与雌性马相比，eca-miR-127 的表达增加，马的 eca-miR-379 和 eca-miR-432 的表达水平高于驴。eca-miR-127 被证实为 ES 受影响和对照马之间的诊断鉴别器。在比较成功治疗和治疗失败的 ES 受影响的马时，在治疗前未发现 miRNA 谱存在差异。在治疗成功的马中，eca-miR-379 和 eca-miR-432 的表达随着时间的推移而降低，但在治疗失败的情况下则不然。生物变量会影响马的全血 miRNA 表达，这可能会使生物标志物的验证复杂化。虽然测试的 miRNA 都不能预测 ES 受影响的马对治疗的反应，并且 eca-miR-127 对 ES 的诊断准确性较差，但 eca-miR-379 和 eca-miR-432 可能有助于细化 ES 治疗成功的监测。
