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.
Highlights
IntroductionDespite 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
Whilst all aspects of profiling should be considered before a platform [69], we propose that the use of miRNA-Seq technology to detect miRNAs and their subsequent validation using qPCR can act as effective method for establishing reliable biomarkers of spinal cord injury (SCI) and neurodegeneration diseases
There are many studies aimed at elucidating the molecular mechanisms of the course of different neurological disorders
Summary
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. These molecular changes that occur during the course of the disease could be tracked much earlier [1,2] In this regard, studies that search for early biomarkers of the pre-symptomatic stages of neurological disorders are highly relevant, for diagnostics and in the staging of disease and choice of therapeutic intervention [3].
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