Circulating biomarkers for detection of bipolar disorder: in silico analysis of miRNAs and target mRNAs
Bipolar disorder, Biomarkers, Physiopathology, in silico
Bipolar disorder (BD) is a psychiatric illness known for its high morbidity rates influenced by a delayed and inaccurate clinical diagnosis. Biomarkers as miRNAs and mRNAs target has been studied to elucidate pathogenesis of many diseases leading to a development of technics to obtain early diagnosis or guarantee an individualized treatment. This study used in silico integrative analysis of mRNAs and miRNAs differentially expressed in whole blood samples of BD patients aiming to elucidate potential mRNA-miRNA interactions in BD. Therefore, miRNA-mRNA interactions in BD were investigated through bioinformatics tools using microarray data and bibliographic review. Expressions profiles of mRNAs (n=81) differentially expressed in BD patients when compared to controls (GSE46416 and GSE23848) and miRNAs (n=15) differentially expressed in BD patients study, described by Maffioletti et al. (2016). These data were used in the analysis program Ingenuity Pathways Analysis 6 software (IPA). The in silico Analysis completed, a clinical stage was performed, consisting of two groups: patients with TB (n = 30) and another of control volunteers (n = 30). There was an analysis of the general and clinical data of the volunteers of the research, besides the analysis of the medical records of patients with TB.
Results showed 34 miRNAs-mRNAs predictions of interactions, when were performed miRNAs-mRNAs analysis directly involved in BD, 9 miRNAs and 28 mRNAs were interconnected, highlighted the connection between BD, mi140-3p and COX6C, and of these with COX7b. All three are related to mitochondria, organelle shown in studies that is impaired in TB. The clinical stage, no significant differences were found in the general and clinical data of BD patients when compared to controls.
In conclusion, these results direct us to some miRNAs and mRNAs that could be involved direct or indirectly in BD physiopathology and could be potential circulating biomarkers to be used in early detection of BD.