Analysis of MicroRNA-Transcription Factors Co-Regulatory Network Linking Depression and Vitamin D Deficiency.

Depression and vitamin D deficiency are often co-occurring pathologies, the common pathogenetic ground of which includes an augmented inflammatory response. However, the molecular details of this relationship remain unclear. Here, we used a bioinformatic approach to analyze GEO transcriptome datasets of major depressive disorder (MDD) and vitamin D deficiency (VDD) to identify the hub genes within the regulatory networks of commonly differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The MDD-VDD shared regulatory network contains 100 DEGs (71 upregulated and 29 downregulated), with six hub genes (PECAM1, TLR2, PTGS2, LRRK2, HCK, and IL18) all significantly upregulated, of which PTGS2 (also known as COX2) shows the highest inference score and reference count. The subsequent analysis of the miRNA-transcription factors network identified COX2, miR-146a-5p, and miR-181c-5p as key co-regulatory actors in the MDD-VDD shared molecular pathogenic mechanisms. Subsequent analysis of published MDD and VDD transcriptome data confirmed the importance of the identified hub genes, further validating our bioinformatic analytical pipeline. Our study demonstrated that PTGS2 was highly upregulated in both depressive patients and patients with low vitamin D plasma levels. Therefore, regulators targeting PTGS2, like miR-146a-5p and miR181c-5p, may have great potential in controlling both diseases simultaneously, accentuating their role in future research.

Clinical Variables Influence the Ability of miR-101, miR-150, and miR-21 to Predict Ventricular Remodeling after ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

Left ventricle remodeling (LVR) after acute myocardial infarction (MI) leads to impairment of both systolic and diastolic function, a significant contributor to heart failure (HF). Despite extensive research in the field, predicting post-MI LVR and HF is still a challenge. Several circulant microRNAs have been proposed as LVR predictors; however, their clinical value is controversial. Here, we used real-time quantitative PCR to quantify the plasma levels of hsa-miR-101, hsa-miR-150, and hsa-miR-21 on the first day of hospital admission of MI patients with ST-elevation (STEMI). We analyzed their correlation to the patient's clinical and paraclinical variables and evaluated their ability to discriminate between post-MI LVR and non-LVR. We show that, despite being excellent MI discriminators, none of these microRNAs can distinguish between LVR and non-LVR patients. Furthermore, we found that diabetes mellitus (DM), Hb level, and the number of erythrocytes significantly influence all three plasma microRNA levels. This suggests that plasma microRNAs' diagnostic and prognostic value in STEMI patients should be reevaluated and interpreted in the context of associated pathologies.

New insights of medicinal plant therapeutic activity-The miRNA transfer.

MicroRNA (miRNA) has become the spotlight of the biomedical research around the world and is considered to be a major post-transcriptional gene regulator. This small, endogenous RNA (21-25 nucleotides long) plays an important role by targeting specific mRNAs in plants, animals and humans. Herbal medicine has been used for thousands of years, however little is known about its molecular mechanism of action. Since the discovery of plant miRNA in human tissue and sera after ingestion, the connection between the two kingdoms is presented under a new perspective. Forward pharmacology, such as miRNA therapeutics could be the next best step toward identifying novel therapeutic options involving medicinal plants. Besides reporting the latest findings regarding the cross-kingdom transfer of miRNA and its therapeutic application, this review can inform further investigations that could lead to a modern definition of herbal medicine.