Elevated circulating miR-150 and miR-342-3p in patients with irritable bowel syndrome

• Examined circulating miRNA expression in IBS patients and healthy controls
• miR-150 and miR-342-3p were elevated in patients with IBS
• Potential circulating miRNA biomarkers of IBS

Background and aimsMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs, which regulate gene expression and are thus of interest as diagnostic markers, and as clues to etiology and targets of intervention. This pilot study examined whether circulating miRNAs are differentially expressed in patients with IBS.MethodsmiRNA microarrays (NanoString) were run on the whole blood of 43 participants.Resultshsa-miR-150 and hsa-miR-342-3p were found to be significantly elevated (FDR adjusted p ≤ 0.05, ≥ 1.6 fold change) in IBS patients compared to healthy controls. Neither of these miRNAs showed any relationship to race or sex. hsa-miR-150 is associated with inflammatory bowel disorders and pain, and interacts with a protein kinase (AKT2) through which it may affect inflammatory pathways. hsa-miR-342-3p is predicted to interact with mRNAs involved in pain signaling, colonic motility, and smooth muscle function.ConclusionsThis preliminary study reports the association of two miRNAs, detected in whole blood, with IBS. These miRNAs link to pain and inflammatory pathways both of which are thought to be dysregulated in IBS. Larger sample sizes are needed to confirm their importance and potential as biomarkers.