title: Differential expression of microRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells as specific biomarker for major depressive disorder patients.
abstract: Currently, diagnosis and treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) are based on the patients' description of symptoms, mental status examinations, and clinical behavioral observations, which increases the chance of misdiagnosis. There is a serious need to find a practical biomarker for the proper diagnosis of MDD. This study aimed to explore the possibility of microRNA (miRNA) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) as specific blood-based biomarker for MDD patients. By using an Affymetrix array that covers 723 human miRNAs, we identified 26 miRNAs with significant changes in expression in PBMCs of MDD patients. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis in a larger cohort of 81 MDD patients and 46 healthy controls confirmed that the expression levels of 5 miRNAs (miRNA-26b, miRNA-1972, miRNA-4485, miRNA-4498, and miRNA-4743) were up-regulated. By receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the combining area under the ROC curve (AUC) of these five miRNAs was 0.636 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.58-0.90]. MiRNA target gene prediction and functional annotation analysis showed that there was a significant enrichment in several pathways associated with nervous system and brain functions, supporting the hypothesis that differentially-regulated miRNAs may be involved in mechanism underlying development of MDD. We conclude that altered expression of miRNAs in PMBCs might be involved in multiple stages of MDD pathogenesis, and thus might be able to serve as specific biomarker for diagnosis of MDD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hui-min
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China; Prevention and Treatment Center for Psychological Diseases, No. 102 Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army, North Peace Road 55, Changzhou 213003, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xin-yang
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Administrative Affairs Office, No.102 Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Changzhou, Jiangsu 213003, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory, No.102 Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Changzhou, Jiangsu 213003, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ai-fang
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, No.102 Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Changzhou, Jiangsu 213003, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Suzhou Psychiatric Hospital, Suzhou 215008, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: GoPath Diagnostic Laboratory Co. Ltd, No. 801, Changwuzhong Road, Changzhou, Jiangsu 213164, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yun-hua
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: GoPath Diagnostic Laboratory Co. Ltd, No. 801, Changwuzhong Road, Changzhou, Jiangsu 213164, People's Republic of China; GoPath Laboratories LLC, 1351 Barclay Blvd, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089, USA.
authors.forename: Zhong-min
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Prevention and Treatment Center for Psychological Diseases, No. 102 Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army, North Peace Road 55, Changzhou 213003, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: zly102@126.com.
authors.forename: Li-yi
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: GoPath Diagnostic Laboratory Co. Ltd, No. 801, Changwuzhong Road, Changzhou, Jiangsu 213164, People's Republic of China; GoPath Laboratories LLC, 1351 Barclay Blvd, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089, USA. Electronic address: luzb88@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012372:ROC Curve; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: Functional annotation analysis; Major depressive disorder; MicroRNA; Microarray analysis; Peripheral blood mononuclear cells; Target gene prediction