Abstract
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder and the most common cause of dementia; however, early diagnosis of the disease is challenging. Research suggests that biomarkers found in blood, such as microRNAs (miRNA), may be promising for AD diagnostics. Experimental data on miRNA–target interactions (MTI) associated with AD are scattered across databases and publications, thus making the identification of promising miRNA biomarkers for AD difficult. In response to this, a list of experimentally validated AD-associated MTIs was obtained from miRTarBase. Cytoscape was used to create a visual MTI network. STRING software was used for protein–protein interaction analysis and mirPath was used for pathway enrichment analysis. Several targets regulated by multiple miRNAs were identified, including: BACE1, APP, NCSTN, SP1, SIRT1, and PTEN. The miRNA with the highest numbers of interactions in the network were: miR-9, miR-16, miR-34a, miR-106a, miR-107, miR-125b, miR-146, and miR-181c. The analysis revealed seven subnetworks, representing disease modules which have a potential for further biomarker development. The obtained MTI network is not yet complete, and additional studies are needed for the comprehensive understanding of the AD-associated miRNA targetome.
Highlights
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a complex, multifactorial, progressive neurodegenerative disorder afflicting the central nervous system (CNS) and is the most common cause of dementia
Our analysis revealed seven subnetworks of miRNA–target interactions (MTI), representing disease modules, which have the potential for network-based biomarker development
We conducted a synthesis of heterogenous results extracted from 88 unique studies; MTIs were obtained from 45 articles and AD-associated pathways from
Summary
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a complex, multifactorial, progressive neurodegenerative disorder afflicting the central nervous system (CNS) and is the most common cause of dementia. The disease’s clinical progression is variable with several contributing factors, is irreversible and inevitably fatal [1]. The cause of the disease is mostly still unknown. Disease progression is divided into three clinical stages: preclinical, prodromal, and dementia stages. More regions of the brain are affected, resulting in severe difficulties with speech, thought, motor control, and other functions. Late-stage AD outcomes include irreversible disruptions to visual and visuospatial perception, behavioral alterations, losing one’s ability to care for oneself, and progressively worsening cognitive and memory faculties
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