Using bioinformatics technology to mine the expression of serum exosomal miRNA in patients with traumatic brain injury

Xintao Huang; Xinjuan Xu; Ce Wang; Yi Wang; Yajun Yang; Tianle Yao; Rui Bai; Xile Pei; Feirong Bai; Panpan Li

doi:10.3389/fnins.2023.1145307

Using bioinformatics technology to mine the expression of serum exosomal miRNA in patients with traumatic brain injury

Front Neurosci. 2023 Apr 18:17:1145307. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1145307. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Xintao Huang^#¹, Xinjuan Xu^#², Ce Wang^{1

3}, Yi Wang^{1

3}, Yajun Yang^{1

3}, Tianle Yao¹, Rui Bai¹, Xile Pei¹, Feirong Bai^{1

3}, Panpan Li^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China.
² Department of Neurosurgery, Shanxi Cardiovascular Hospital, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China.
³ The First School of Clinical Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is considered the most common traumatic neurological disease, is associated with high mortality and long-term complications, and is a global public health issue. However, there has been little progress in serum markers for TBI research. Therefore, there is an urgent need for biomarkers that can sufficiently function in TBI diagnosis and evaluation.

Methods: Exosomal microRNA (ExomiR), a stable circulating marker in the serum, has aroused widespread interest among researchers. To explore the level of serum ExomiR after TBI, we quantified ExomiR expression levels in serum exosomes extracted from patients with TBI using next-generation sequencing (NGS) and explored potential biomarkers using bioinformatics screening.

Results: Compared with the control group, there were 245 ExomiR (136 up-regulated and 109 down-regulated) in the serum of the TBI group that changed significantly. We observed serum ExomiRs expression profiles associated with neurovascular remodeling, the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, neuroinflammation, and a cascade of secondary injury, including eight up-regulated ExomiRs (ExomiR-124-3p, ExomiR-137-3p, ExomiR-9-3p, ExomiR-133a-5p, ExomiR-204-3p, ExomiR-519a-5p, ExomiR-4732-5p, and ExomiR-206) and 2 down-regulated ExomiR (ExomiR-21-3p and ExomiR-199a-5).

Discussion: The results revealed that serum ExomiRs might become a new research direction and breakthrough for the diagnosis and pathophysiological treatment of patients with TBI.

Keywords: bioinformatics analysis; exosome; microRNA (miR); next-generation sequencing (NGS); traumatic brain injury.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Research Project Supported by the Shanxi Scholarship Council of China (grant no: 2020-169), Fund Program for Scientific Activities of Selected Returned Overseas Professionals in Shanxi Province (grant no: 20210023), and Fundamental Research Program of Shanxi Province (grant no: 202203021211017).