Studies of Extracellular Vesicles miRNA-21-5p and miRNA-106a-5p in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that causes inflammatory and neurodegenerative lesions. Ectracellular vesicles are small membrane-bound structures secreted by all types of cells and found in various biological fluids. Currently, the diagnosis of MS is based on clinical, radiological and laboratory criteria, but especially in the early stages, these markers are often non-specific. For this reason, additional diagnostic markers are being sought that can increase diagnostic accuracy and complement existing MS diagnostic methods. One of the significant molecules that can increase diagnostic accuracy is microRNA (miRNA). MiRNAs are small, non-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression and can be used as circulating biomarkers for various diseases, including MS. MiRNAs were isolated from serum extracellular vesicles from 49 MS patients and 49 controls using „ExoRNeasy Midi Kit“. MiRNA concentration and quality were assessed by using „NanoDrop 2000“ and cDNA synthesis was performed using the “TaqMan® Advanced miRNA cDNA Synthesis Kit“. MiRNA expression was detected by using RTPCR method. RT-PCR results were analyzed with „QuantStudio™ Design & Analysis Software“. The obtained data were processed and statistically evaluated using the „IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0“ program. It was found that the expression of both studied miRNAs was significantly different between the MS and control groups of neurologically healthy individuals (p0.05). ROC curve analysis revealed the diagnostic and prognostic potential of the studied miRNAs, assessed by AUC values. The results obtained indicate that the studied miRNA-21-5p and miRNA-106a-p may be suitable as potential biomarkers in multiple sclerosis.