Expression Patterns of Micro-RNAs 146a, 181a, and 155 in Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is caused by persistent brain infection of mutated virus, showing inflammation, neurode- generation, and demyelination. Although many factors are emphasized in the pathogenesis of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, the exact mechanism of neurodegeneration remains unknown. Micro-RNAs are small, noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional levels. Micro-RNAs are essential for normal immune system development; besides they are also implicated in the pathogenesis of many chronic inflammatory disorders. The aim of this study is to investigate the expression patterns of micro-RNAs 146a, 181a, and 155 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with subacute sclerosing panen- cephalitis. We enrolled 39 patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis and 41 healthy controls. Quantitative analysis of micro-RNAs 146a, 181a, and 155 were performed using specific stem-loop primers followed by real-time polymerase chain reac- tion. All of 3 micro-RNAs were upregulated in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis patients. In addition, the level of micro-RNA 155 expression was higher in stage 3 patients. But, micro-RNA 146a and 181a expression levels showed no association or cor- relation with clinically relevant data. Alteration of peripheral blood mononuclear cell micro-RNAs in subacute sclerosing panen- cephalitis may shed new light on the pathogenesis of disease and may contribute to the aberrant systemic rise in mRNA levels in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.