MicroRNA Panel Identifies Mild Brain Trauma in a Mouse Model

In the absence of specific diagnostic markers, mTBI is often unnoticed or misdiagnosed. Previous research had found a link between microRNAs—snippets of about 20 nucleotides that block gene expression by attaching to molecules of messenger RNA (mRNA) in a fashion that prevents them from transmitting the protein synthesizing instructions they had received from the DNA—and post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, investigators at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (Bethesda, MD, USA) sought to identify a similar relationship between miRNAs and mTBI.

MTBI was induced in test animals by varying the weight and fall height of an impactor rod. This treatment caused four different severity grades of mTBI. Injuries were characterized as mild by neurobehavioral severity assessment one day after the injury. All of the animals recovered after day one with no significant neurobehavioral alteration by day 30 post injury.

Results from serum miRNA profiles, which were published in the November 7, 2014, online edition of the journal PLOS ONE, clearly differentiated injured from uninjured animals. Overall, the number of miRNAs that were significantly modulated in injured animals compared to controls increased with the severity of the injury. Thirteen miRNAs were found to identify mTBI regardless of its severity within the mild spectrum of injury. Bioinformatics analyses revealed that the more severe brain injuries were associated with a greater number of miRNAs involved in brain related functions.

Senior author Dr. Radha K. Maheshwari, professor of pathology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, said, “This important finding is a step forward in identifying objective biomarkers for mTBI that may be further validated to accurately and cost-effectively identify mTBI in service members and civilians with brain injuries. Our current effort is to identify the precise role these microRNAs play in mTBI which may help in development of mTBI therapies.”

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Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences