title: Serum and amygdala microRNA signatures of posttraumatic stress: fear correlation and biomarker potential.
abstract: Exposure to acute traumatic stress can cause permanent changes in neurological circuitry and may lead to the development of an anxiety disorder known as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Current diagnosis of PTSD is based on clinical or behavioral symptom assessment, however, these are not definitive due to overlapping symptoms with other psychiatric disorders or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). No FDA approved diagnostic tests or biomarkers are currently available for diagnosis of PTSD. Recently, circulating miRNAs have emerged as novel biomarkers of many diseases. In this study, we have examined the altered expression of serum and amygdala miRNAs in an animal model of PTSD. Differentially expressed and statistically significant miRNAs in serum were validated for their presence in amygdala of corresponding animals. A panel of nine stress-responsive miRNAs viz., miR-142-5p, miR-19b, miR-1928, miR-223-3p, miR-322∗, miR-324, miR-421-3p and miR-463∗ and miR-674∗ were identified, and may have potential as biomarker(s) for PTSD. Further validations by bioinformatics and system biology approaches indicate that five miRNAs such as miR-142-5p, miR-19b, miR-1928, miR-223 and miR-421-3p may play a potential role in the regulation of genes associated with delayed and exaggerated fear. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating the plausibility of using circulating miRNAs as biomarkers of PTSD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
authors.forename: Nagaraja S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Balakathiresan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; Biological Sciences Group, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani 333031, Rajasthan, India.
authors.forename: Raghavendar
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chandran
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
authors.forename: Manish
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bhomia
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
authors.forename: He
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA. Electronic address: radha.maheshwari@usuhs.edu.
authors.forename: Radha K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Maheshwari
mesh_terms: D000679:Amygdala / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: Amygdala; Biomarker; PTSD; Serum; Traumatic stress; microRNA