Abstract
Purpose :
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small, stable non-coding RNAs that target mRNAs at the posttranscriptional level. However, the role of miRNAs in primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the miRNA profile and its regulatory role in glaucomatous optic neuropathy using next-generation sequencing.
Methods :
Aqueous humor (AH) samples were collected from 19 primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) eyes and 17 age-matched cataract eyes before surgery. Next-generation sequencing was performed for RNA samples extracted from 18 AH samples (9 samples from POAG eyes and 9 samples from cataract eyes), and the bioinformatics approach was applied for samples with adequate clean data output. The other 18 samples were used for quantitative PCR (qPCR) validation of sequencing results.
Results :
In total, 12 (six POAG and six cataract) samples with sufficient clean data output after sequencing were used for further data analysis. Four hundred sixty-six and 480 mature miRNAs were detected in the POAG and cataract groups respectively. Among them, 164 miRNAs were detected in all POAG samples, and 96 miRNAs were detected in all cataract samples. Furthermore, 88 miRNAs were identified as differentially expressed between POAG and cataract eyes. In addition, 16 miRNAs were differentially expressed between POAG eyes with severe visual field damage and eyes with moderate visual field damage. This differential expression was predicted to regulate thiamine metabolism, purine metabolism, and transcriptional misregulation. Relative expression patterns of has-miR-184, -486-5p, and -93-5p were confirmed by qPCR.
Conclusions :
This study comprehensively demonstrated the miRNA expression profile in aqueous of POAG eyes, especially the differential expression of miRNA in eyes with varying degrees of visual field damage, which, together with the underlying miRNA related pathways, indicate a new target for the pathogenesis and progression of POAG.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.