Exosomal MicroRNA-Based Predictive Model for Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease: A Multicenter Study

Abstract

BackgroundExosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) have been demonstrated to be biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, whether exosomal miRNAs can predict AD at the asymptomatic stage remains unclear. MethodsThis study is a multicenter study with four independent datasets to verify the capacity of exosomal miRNAs to identify preclinical AD. Subjects were recruited from a Beijing center in the pilot study (dataset 1: subjects with AD, n = 20; control subjects, n = 20), from other centers across China (dataset 2: subjects with AD, n = 95; control subjects, n = 93), a longitudinal cohort (dataset 3: subjects with preclinical AD, n = 101; control subjects, n = 102), and a confirmation study on familial AD (dataset 4: mutation carriers, n = 56; nonmutation carriers, n = 57). ResultsA panel of miRNAs was changed in subjects with AD and can detect preclinical AD 5 to 7 years before the onset of cognitive impairment (areas under the curve = 0.85−0.88). ConclusionsExosomal miRNAs can be effective biomarkers for predicting AD 5 to 7 years prior to cognitive impairment onset.