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Altered microRNA Expression in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells from Young Patients with Schizophrenia

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Abstract

Schizophrenia (SZ) is a debilitating psychotic disorder of unknown etiology, and the diagnosis is essentially based on clinical symptoms. So it is urgent to find an objective and feasible clinical diagnostic index for SZ. MicroRNA array was performed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from young SZ patients and gender-, age-, and ethnicity-matched healthy controls. Then, real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to verify the top 10 microRNAs (miRNAs) with the highest fold change values in 55 SZ patients and 28 healthy controls, and 9 miRNAs demonstrate significant differences in expression levels (P < 0.01). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the combining area under the ROC curve (AUC) of the nine miRNAs was 0.973 (95 % confidence interval (CI): 0.945–1.000). miRNA target gene prediction and functional annotation analysis showed that there were significant enrichments in several gene ontology (GO) biological process and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathways associated with nervous system and brain functions, suggesting that the differentially expressed miRNAs may be involved in mechanism of SZ. We conclude that altered expression of miRNAs in PMBCs might be involved in young SZ pathogenesis and may serve as noninvasive biomarker for SZ diagnosis.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Cadre Ward, Chengdu Military General Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, People’s Republic of China

      Hui-min Fan

    2. Department of Psychology and Psychiatry, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, 200433, People’s Republic of China

      Hui-min Fan & Xin-yang Sun

    3. Prevention and Treatment Center for Psychological Diseases, No.102 Hospital of Chinese People’s Liberation Army, North Peace Road 55, Changzhou, 213003, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

      Xin-yang Sun & Li-yi Zhang

    4. Department of Rehabilitation, No.102 Hospital of Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Changzhou, 213003, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

      Wei Niu

    5. Department of Psychiatry, Suzhou Psychiatric Hospital, Suzhou, 215008, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

      Lin Zhao

    6. Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Postgraduate School, Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou, 221000, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

      Qiao-Li Zhang

    7. GoPath Diagnostic Laboratory Co. Ltd., No.801, Changwuzhong Road, Changzhou, 213164, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

      Wan-shuai Li & Jim Lu

    8. Department of Laboratory, No.102 Hospital of Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Changzhou, 213003, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

      Ai-fang Zhong

    9. GoPath Laboratories LLC, 1351 Barclay Blvd, Buffalo Grove, IL, 60089, USA

      Jim Lu

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    Correspondence to Li-yi Zhang or Jim Lu.

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    Hui-min Fan, Xin-yang Sun, and Wei Niu agreed to share the first authorship position together.

    Hui-min Fan, Xin-yang Sun and Wei Niu contributed equally to this work.

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    Fan, Hm., Sun, Xy., Niu, W. et al. Altered microRNA Expression in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells from Young Patients with Schizophrenia. J Mol Neurosci 56, 562–571 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-015-0503-z

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-015-0503-z

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