Gene co-expression network for analysis of plasma exosomal miRNAs in the elderly as markers of aging and cognitive decline

PeerJ

article

Zheng Ye¹  Bo Sun¹  Xue Mi¹  Zhongdang Xiao¹ 

[1] State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University

关键词: WGCNA;    Plasma;    Exsome;    miRNA;    Eldly;    Aging;    Cognitive decline;    MoCA score;    Biomarker;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.8318

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Background Evidence has shown that microRNA (miRNAs) are involved in molecular pathways responsible for aging and age-related cognitive decline. However, there is a lack of research linked plasma exosome-derived miRNAs changes with cognitive function in older people and aging, which might prove a new insight on the transformation of miRNAs on clinical applications for cognitive decline for older people. Methods We applied weighted gene co-expression network analysis to investigated miRNAs within plasma exosomes of older people for a better understanding of the relationship of exosome-derived miRNAs with cognitive decline in elderly adults. We identified network modules of co-expressed miRNAs in the elderly exosomal miRNAs dataset. In each module, we selected vital miRNAs and carried out functional enrichment analyses of their experimentally known target genes and their function. Results We found that plasma exosomal miRNAs hsa-mir-376a-3p, miR-10a-5p, miR-125-5p, miR-15a-5p have critical regulatory roles in the development of aging and cognitive dysfunction in the elderly and may serve as biomarkers and putative novel therapeutic targets for aging and cognitive decline.

【 授权许可】

CC BY