MicroRNAs, Multiple Sclerosis, and Depression.

Hsiuying Wang

doi:10.3390/ijms22157802

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease of the central nervous system that affects the brain and spinal cord. There are several disease courses in MS including relapsing–remitting MS (RRMS), primary progressive MS (PPMS), and secondary progressive MS (SPMS). Up to 50% of MS patients experience depressive disorders. Major depression (MD) is a serious comorbidity of MS. Many dysfunctions including neuroinflammation, peripheral inflammation, gut dysbiosis, chronic oxidative and nitrosative stress, and neuroendocrine and mitochondrial abnormalities may contribute to the comorbidity between MS and MD. In addition to these actions, medical treatment and microRNA (miRNA) regulation may also be involved in the mechanisms of the comorbidity between MS and MD. In the study, I review many common miRNA biomarkers for both diseases. These common miRNA biomarkers may help further explore the association between MS and MD.

Highlights

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system
In addition to common miRNA biomarkers that may contribute to the comorbidity between MS and Major depression (MD), the connection between the two diseases can be discussed from other aspects
I review many common miRNA biomarkers of MS and MD. These two disorders share more common miRNA biomarkers than those discussed in this paper

Summary

Introduction

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system It is one of the most common causes of neurological dysfunction among young people worldwide. Most MS patients are the RRMS type They may have the first signs of the disease at an early age. Several studies have shown that the risk factors of MS include genetic and environmental factors. In addition to MS, MD was shown to be associated with several other diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, stroke, and acute coronary syndrome [10,11,12,13]. MicroRNA miRNA is a small non-coding RNA with a length of about 21–24 nucleotides It has important functions in cell differentiation, development, cell cycle regulation, and apoptosis. The development of small RNA drugs has significantly progressed. Bovine milk-derived exosomes were shown to be a promising source as a nanocarrier of miRNAs for RNA-based therapy [40]

MicroRNA Biomarkers

Other Mechanisms Connecting MS and MD

Findings

Discussion

Conclusions