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MicroRNAs as Potential Circulating Biomarkers for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

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Abstract

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a condition primarily characterized by the selective loss of upper and lower motor neurons. Motor neuron loss gives rise to muscle tissue malfunctions, including weakness, spasticity, atrophy, and ultimately paralysis, with death typically due to respiratory failure within 2 to 5 years of symptoms’ onset. The mean delay in time from presentation to diagnosis remains at over 1 year. Biomarkers are urgently needed to facilitate ALS diagnosis and prognosis as well as to act as indicators of therapeutic response in clinical trials. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small molecules that can influence posttranscriptional gene expression of a variety of transcript targets. Interestingly, miRNAs can be released into the circulation by pathologically affected tissues. This review presents therapeutic and diagnostic challenges associated with ALS, highlights the potential role of miRNAs in ALS, and discusses the diagnostic potential of these molecules in identifying ALS-specific miRNAs or in distinguishing between the various genotypic and phenotypic forms of ALS.

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Acknowledgments

FC, AM, and PJM acknowledge the Institut de l’Atlantique en Neurosciences Atlantic Institute (IANSAI) for instigating the collaborations that lead to this article.

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The authors declare no conflict of interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut de l’Atlantique en Neurosciences Atlantic Institute, Vitalité Health Network, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Dr Georges-L.-Dumont/Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre, Moncton, NB, Canada

    Frank Cloutier, Alier Marrero & Pier Jr Morin

  2. Département de Chimie et Biochimie, Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB, Canada

    Pier Jr Morin

  3. Stan Cassidy Centre for Rehabilitation, Fredericton, NB, Canada

    Colleen O’Connell

  4. Dalhousie Medicine, New Brunswick, Saint John, NB, Canada

    Colleen O’Connell

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  1. Frank Cloutier
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Correspondence to Frank Cloutier.

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Cloutier, F., Marrero, A., O’Connell, C. et al. MicroRNAs as Potential Circulating Biomarkers for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. J Mol Neurosci 56, 102–112 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-014-0471-8

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