title: MicroRNA signatures differentiate Crohn's disease from ulcerative colitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Excessive and inappropriate immune responses are the hallmark of several autoimmune disorders, including the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD): Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). A complex etiology involving both environmental and genetic factors influences IBD pathogenesis. The role of microRNAs (miRNAs), noncoding RNAs involved in regulating numerous biological processes, to IBD pathology, in terms of initiation and progression, remains ill-defined. In the present study, we evaluated the relationship between colon, peripheral blood, and saliva whole miRNome expression in IBD patients and non-inflammatory bowel disease (non-IBD) controls to identify miRNAs that could discriminate CD from UC. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to validate and assess miRNA expression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Microarray analysis demonstrated that upwards of twenty six miRNAs were changed in CD and UC colon biopsies relative to the non-IBD controls. CD was associated with the differential expression of 10 miRNAs while UC was associated with 6 miRNAs in matched colon tissues. CD was associated with altered expression of 6 miRNAs while UC was associated with 9 miRNAs in whole blood. Expression of miR-101 in CD patients and miR-21, miR-31, miR-142-3p, and miR-142-5p in UC patients were altered in saliva.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that there is specific miRNA expression patterns associated with UC versus CD in three separate tissue/body fluids (colon, blood, and saliva). Further, the aberrant miRNA expression profiles indicate that miRNAs may be contributory to IBD pathogenesis, or at least reflect the underlying inflammation. Scrutinizing miRNA expression in saliva and blood samples may be beneficial in monitoring or diagnosing disease in IBD patients. A panel of miRNAs (miR-19a, miR-21, miR-31, miR-101, miR-146a, and miR-375) may be used as markers to identify and discriminate between CD and UC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Dentistry, Houston, TX, 77054, USA. Jeremy.Schaefer@uth.tmc.edu.
authors.forename: Jeremy S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Schaefer
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. attumi2002@yahoo.com.|Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA. attumi2002@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Taraq
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Attumi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. aopekun@bcm.edu.|Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA. aopekun@bcm.edu.
authors.forename: Antone R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Opekun
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. bincya@bcm.edu.|Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA. bincya@bcm.edu.
authors.forename: Bincy
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Abraham
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. jkhou@bcm.edu.|VA HSR&D Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA. jkhou@bcm.edu.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. htshelby@bcm.edu.|Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA. htshelby@bcm.edu.
authors.forename: Harold
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shelby
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. dgraham@bcm.edu.|VA HSR&D Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA. dgraham@bcm.edu.
authors.forename: David Y
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Dentistry, Houston, TX, 77054, USA. Charles.Streckfus@uth.tmc.edu.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Streckfus
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Dentistry, Houston, TX, 77054, USA. John.R.Klein@uth.tmc.edu.
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Klein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000071183:Autophagy-Related Proteins; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D001706:Biopsy; D001773:Blood Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics; D003106:Colon / Q000502:physiology*; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D008875:Middle Aged; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012463:Saliva / Q000502:physiology*; D059467:Transcriptome; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C518959:ATG16L1 protein, human; D000071183:Autophagy-Related Proteins; D015415:Biomarkers; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D035683:MicroRNAs; C000592051:RC3H1 protein, human; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases