Diagnostic value of microRNAs in peripheral venous blood for patients with depressive disorder

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of microRNA(miRNA) in peripheral venous blood for depressive disorder. Methods Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR) was used to verify expression level of miRNAs in peripheral blood of non-specific mental retardation children, which were aberrantly expressed in depressive disorder patients , and then Receiver Operating Characteristics(ROC)curve was employed to confirm the sensitivity and specificity of abnormal miRNA expression in depressive disorder and non-specific mental retardation. Results MiR-1972, miR-26b, miR-4485, miR-4498 and miR-4743 were upregulated significantly in case group of depressive disorder(P 0.05). The ROC curve of miR-26b in depressive disorder patients and their control group showed that the sensitivity and specificity were 0.609, 0.664 respectively, and the area square under the curve was 0.614(P=0.021). The ROC curve of miR-26b in patients of depressive disorder and non-specific mental retardation indicated that the sensitivity and specificity were 0.784 and 0.471, and area square under the curve was 0.643(P=0.003). Conclusion miR-26b probably have diagnostic value for depressive disorder, which may comorbidity with non-specific mental retardation. But genetic and psychosocial mechanism of comorbidity still needs further exploration. Key words: miRNA; Depressive disorder; Non-specific mental retardation; Diagnosis