Increased Circulating miR-10a Levels Associated with Multiple Sclerosis

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the central nervous system. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs 19–24 nucleotides long, which are differentially expressed in different tissues. The role of miRNAs in MS remains unclear. We assessed miR-10a transcript levels in MS patients during recurrence and two months after relapse. Materials and methods: In this case-control study, we used real-time PCR to examine miR-10a expression in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 60 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), 30 during recurrence and 30 two months after relapse, and 30 healthy subjects who were referred to the MS Clinic of Kashani Hospital, Isfahan Province. In silico analysis was also performed on the validated miR-10a targets using miRTarBase. Results: miR-10a expression was higher in RRMS patients during recurrence and two months after relapse (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.0001, respectively) than in the healthy subjects. Furthermore, in silico molecular signaling enrichment analysis identified 12 mRNAs as validated miR-10a targets. Conclusion: The expression of miR-10a was elevated in patients with RRMS compared to healthy subjects, suggesting that miR-10a could be a potential biomarker for RRMS diagnosis.