Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy.
Institute of Respiratory Diseases, Policlinico of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy.
Biomolecules. 2023 Oct 18;13(10):1542. doi: 10.3390/biom13101542.
Severe asthma (SA) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways. Due to the extreme heterogeneity of symptoms, new biomarkers are currently needed. MiRNAs are non-coding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. In biological fluids, miRNAs are contained within exosomes, vesicles capable of giving miRNAs considerable stability and resistance to degradation by RNAses. The main function attributed to the exosomes is intercellular communication. The goal of our study was to analyze intracellular and exosomal miRNAs in order to demonstrate their potential use as non-invasive biomarkers of asthma by showing, in particular, their role in SA. We detected miRNAs by qRT-PCR in both serum and serum-derived-exosomes of asthmatic patients and healthy controls. The levels of almost all analyzed intracellular miRNAs (miR-21, miR-223, and let-7a) were greater in asthmatic patients vs. healthy control, except for miR-223. In detail, miR-21 was greater in SA, while let-7a increased in mild-to-moderate asthma. On the other hand, in exosomes, all analyzed miRNAs were higher in SA. This study identified a series of miRNAs involved in SA, highlighting their potential role in asthma development and progression. These results need validation on a larger cohort.
严重哮喘（SA）是一种气道慢性炎症性疾病。由于症状的极度异质性，目前需要新的生物标志物。miRNA 是非编码 RNA，可在转录后水平负调控基因表达。在生物体液中，miRNA 包含在能够使 miRNA 具有相当稳定性和抵抗 RNA 酶降解的外泌体中。外泌体的主要功能是细胞间通讯。我们的研究目的是分析细胞内和外泌体中的 miRNA，以证明它们作为哮喘非侵入性生物标志物的潜在用途，特别是证明它们在 SA 中的作用。我们通过 qRT-PCR 在哮喘患者和健康对照者的血清和血清衍生的外泌体中检测了 miRNA。与健康对照组相比，哮喘患者体内几乎所有分析的细胞内 miRNA（miR-21、miR-223 和 let-7a）水平都更高，miR-223 除外。具体来说，miR-21 在 SA 中更高，而 let-7a 在轻度至中度哮喘中增加。另一方面，在外泌体中，所有分析的 miRNA 在 SA 中都更高。本研究鉴定了一系列参与 SA 的 miRNA，突出了它们在哮喘发展和进展中的潜在作用。这些结果需要在更大的队列中进行验证。
