Table 2.
Summary of data concerning miRNAs detected in different biofluids linked to clinical parameters.
| Sample | Groups of Study | Results | Function/Effects | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid | * Healthy and asthma individuals. * Severe asthma patients. |
- 24 miRNAs differentially expressed from 894 miRNAs evaluated. - Prominent role of the let-7 family, especially miR-200. - Deficient loading of miRNAs into their nanovesicles. These miRNAs generated a network. |
- Downregulated in asthma group. Correlated with airway remodeling. - MiRNAs network associated with worsened lung function and increased eosinophilic and neutrophilic inflammation. |
[112] [113] |
| Induced sputum | * Healthy, mild-to-moderate and severe asthma patients. * Healthy and asthmatic patients. |
- Higher expression of miR-629-3p, miR-223-3p, miR-142-3p. - Used epithelium, sputum, and plasma samples. - In sputum, miR-221-3p correlates with eosinophils. - Increase of miR-221-3p after 4 weeks of inhaled corticosteroids compared to baseline. |
- Related to neutrophilic inflammation. - Biomarker for airway eosinophilic inflammation; moreover, being an element of airway inflammation improve after treatment. |
[114] [115] |
| Serum and/or plasma | * Asthmatic and healthy children. The author sub-classified asthmatics children into two groups, steroid-resistant and steroid-sensitive. | - Serum miR-21 level was increased in asthmatics vs. healthy as well as in steroid-resistant patients compared to steroid-sensitive patients. - Positive correlation with blood and sputum eosinophil count and inversely correlated with FEV1. |
- MiR-21 could be a severity biomarker in asthma pathology. | [116] |
| * Asthmatic and healthy children. | - Higher levels of miR-155 in plasma from asthmatic patients and decreased levels of let-7a. - MiR-155 presented a direct correlation with IL-13 levels and an inverse correlation with FEV1 and FVC. Let-7a correlated positively with FEV1 and FVC and inversely with IL-13 expression. |
- MiR-155 and let-7a showed opposite results. MiR-155 could be a biomarker of worsened lung function. | [117] | |
| * Salmeterol-sensitive and resistant asthmatic patients. * Neutrophilic asthma patients and healthy subjects. * Asthma and healthy individuals. * Pediatric asthma cohort. |
- Serum MiR-16 levels present a significant negative correlation with FEV1. - MiR-199a-5p was increased in plasma and sputum of patients with neutrophilic asthma. Negative correlation with pulmonary function. - Strong inverse correlation between plasma miR-181b-5p and airway eosinophilia. - Increase of miR-181b-5p levels after ICS treatment. - Evaluation of 754 miRNAs in serum from 153 asthmatic children. - 12 miRNAs had significant odds ratios for exacerbation, the most significant being miR-206. - miR-146b, miR-206, and miR720 combination, alongside the exacerbation clinical score, presented a predictive power with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.81. |
- Mir-16 may predict response to salmeterol with an AUC value of 0.99, being a potential biomarker in response to treatment. - Plasma miR-199a-5p could be a marker of neutrophilic asthma and poor lung function. - Biomarker for airway eosinophilia. - Using the logistic regression model created with three miRNAs, it may be possible to predict exacerbations. |
[118] [119] [120] [121] |