Abstract
(1) Background: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is one of the promising risk genes for schizophrenia (SZ), a disease with prominent dysregulation of miRNA networks. Here, we present a study of miRNA-BDNF co-expression changes in peripheral blood of SZ patients. (2) Methods: The expression levels of the BDNF mRNA and three validated binding miRNAs—miR-124-3p, miR-132-3p, and miR-206—were quantified in the blood of 48 healthy controls and 32 SZ patients before and after 12 weeks of treatment. The co-expression patterns were evaluated in the three groups. (3) Results: The expression levels of BDNF were significantly downregulated in SZ patients compared to the controls. After the treatment, the expression levels of BDNF were upregulated, while the expression levels of the three miRNAs were downregulated. Co-expression analyses showed positive correlations of this network in the SZ patients, while weak negative correlations were observed in the healthy controls. After the 12-week treatment, the overall correlation between BDNF and the three miRNAs reached the levels comparable to the healthy controls. (4) Conclusions: Our findings suggest the involvement of the miRNA-BDNF network in the onset and treatment of SZ.
Highlights
Accepted: 20 January 2022Schizophrenia (SZ) is a severe mental disorder characterized by a variety of symptoms, both positive, such as hallucinations and delusion, and negative, such as insufficiency of thinking processes, dull emotional response, reduced will, and cognitive impairment
(4) Conclusions: Our findings suggest the involvement of the miRNA-Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) network in the onset and treatment of SZ
There were no significant differences in miR-206 and miR-132-3p levels between SZ cases and the controls (Table 2 and Figure 1)
Summary
Schizophrenia (SZ) is a severe mental disorder characterized by a variety of symptoms, both positive, such as hallucinations and delusion, and negative, such as insufficiency of thinking processes, dull emotional response, reduced will, and cognitive impairment. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been widely studied as a biomarker for a range of neuropsychiatric disorders, including SZ [8,9]. Abnormal BDNF expression or function has been repeatedly observed in neurodegenerative and mental diseases. A large number of studies have shown that miRNA expression is abnormal in the brain and the peripheral blood of patients with SZ [16,17]. The expression of the BDNF-encoding gene is regulated by a cluster of miRNAs, some of which have been experimentally validated, including miR-1/206 [19], miR-124 [20], let-7d [20], and miR-132-3p [21]. We investigate the co-expression patterns between the BDNF-encoding mRNA and its regulatory miRNAs, miR-124-3p, miR-132-3p, and miR-206 in 48 healthy controls as well as 32 SZ patients before and after.
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