Expression profile and clinical significance of miRNA in children with autism spectrum disorder / 中国医师杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:The purpose of this study was to analyze the expression profile of miRNAs in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and to discuss the clinical significance of differentially expressed miRNAs.Methods:MiRNA microarray was used to analyze the expression of miRNA in peripheral blood of 3 pairs of ASD patients-healthy controls; 17 pairs of ASD patients-healthy controls were used to verify the differentially expressed miRNA; Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the differential expression the value of miRNA in the diagnosis of ASD.Results:A total of 32 differentially expressed genes were screened by 3 pairs of miRNA microarray including 12 up-regulated miRNAs and 20 down-regulated miRNAs. miRNA verification of 20 differentially expressed miRNAs showed miR-15a-5p, miR-27a-3p , miR-142-3p and miR-142-5p were significantly down-regulated in children with ASD, with statistically significant difference (all P<0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of the above four miRNAs diagnosing ASD were all greater than 0.70, with sensitivities 94.12%, 100%, 100%, and 82.35%, respectively. Conclusions:The expression of miR-142-3p, miR-27a-3p/miR-15a-5p, and miR-142-5p is down-regulated in the peripheral blood of ASD patients, and has the potential as biomarkers for early screening of ASD.