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MDPI, Brain Sciences, 2(12), p. 167, 2022

DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12020167

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Deregulatory miRNA-BDNF Network Inferred from Dynamic Expression Changes in Schizophrenia

Journal article published in 2022 by Xiaoqian Fu ORCID, Yansong Liu, Ancha Baranova, Fuquan Zhang ORCID
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

(1) Background: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is one of the promising risk genes for schizophrenia (SZ), a disease with prominent dysregulation of miRNA networks. Here, we present a study of miRNA-BDNF co-expression changes in peripheral blood of SZ patients. (2) Methods: The expression levels of the BDNF mRNA and three validated binding miRNAs—miR-124-3p, miR-132-3p, and miR-206—were quantified in the blood of 48 healthy controls and 32 SZ patients before and after 12 weeks of treatment. The co-expression patterns were evaluated in the three groups. (3) Results: The expression levels of BDNF were significantly downregulated in SZ patients compared to the controls. After the treatment, the expression levels of BDNF were upregulated, while the expression levels of the three miRNAs were downregulated. Co-expression analyses showed positive correlations of this network in the SZ patients, while weak negative correlations were observed in the healthy controls. After the 12-week treatment, the overall correlation between BDNF and the three miRNAs reached the levels comparable to the healthy controls. (4) Conclusions: Our findings suggest the involvement of the miRNA-BDNF network in the onset and treatment of SZ.