The Study of Cerebrospinal Fluid microRNAs in Spinal Cord Injury and Neurodegenerative Diseases: Methodological Problems and Possible Solutions

Baichurina, Irina; Valiullin, Victor; James, Victoria; Rizvanov, Albert; Mukhamedshina, Yana

Abstract

Despite extensive research on neurological disorders, unanswered questions remain regarding the molecular mechanisms underpinning the course of these diseases, and the search continues for effective biomarkers for early diagnosis, prognosis, or therapeutic intervention. These questions are especially acute in the study of spinal cord injury (SCI) and neurodegenerative diseases. It is believed that the changes in gene expression associated with processes triggered by neurological disorders are the result of post-transcriptional gene regulation. microRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulators of post-transcriptional gene expression and, as such, are often looked to in the search for effective biomarkers. We propose that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is potentially a source of biomarkers since it is in direct contact with the central nervous system and therefore may contain biomarkers indicating neurodegeneration or damage to the brain and spinal cord. However, since the abundance of miRNAs in CSF is low, their isolation and detection is technically difficult. In this review, we evaluate the findings of recent studies of CSF miRNAs as biomarkers of spinal cord injury (SCI) and neurodegenerative diseases. We also summarize the current knowledge concerning the methods of studying miRNA in CSF, including RNA isolation and normalization of the data, highlighting the caveats of these approaches and possible solutions.

Citation

Baichurina, I., Valiullin, V., James, V., Rizvanov, A., & Mukhamedshina, Y. (2021). The Study of Cerebrospinal Fluid microRNAs in Spinal Cord Injury and Neurodegenerative Diseases: Methodological Problems and Possible Solutions. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(1), Article 114. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23010114

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 20, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Dec 22, 2021
• Publication Date: Dec 22, 2021
• Deposit Date: Feb 24, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 25, 2022
• Journal: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Print ISSN: 1661-6596
• Electronic ISSN: 1422-0067
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 23
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 114
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23010114
• Keywords: Inorganic Chemistry; Organic Chemistry; Physical and Theoretical Chemistry; Computer Science Applications; Spectroscopy; Molecular Biology; General Medicine; Catalysis
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/7354088
• Publisher URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/1/114