Parnian Shobeiri, Sanam Alilou , Mehran Jaberinezhad, Farshad Zare, Nastaran Karimi, Saba Maleki, Antonio L. Teixeira, George Perry,Nima Rezaei
Abstract
Background: Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), have been associated with long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Plasma exosomal lncRNAs have been suggested as potential biomarkers for AD. This systematic review aims to evaluate the accuracy of lncRNAs in identifying AD cases through meta-analysis.
Introduction: AD is a common neurodegenerative disease characterized by cognitive decline and dementia. It is defined by the presence of amyloid-beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. While no disease-modifying therapy exists, treatments can alleviate symptoms.
Materials and methods: A meta-analysis was conducted using Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves to assess the accuracy of identified lncRNAs in AD diagnosis. Sensitivity and specificity were considered, and a random-effects model was used to account for heterogeneity.
Results: Among the seven lncRNAs studied, three (RNA BACE-AS1, RNA NEAT1, RNA GAS5) were upregulated in AD patients' plasma samples, while one (MALAT1) was downregulated. RNA 51A and RNA BC200 had variable expression patterns. The pooled sensitivity and specificity values for lncRNAs in AD diagnosis were 74% and 88%, respectively.
Discussion: BACE1-AS showed significant upregulation in AD patients, suggesting its potential as a diagnostic biomarker. Increased BACE1-AS levels contribute to increased Aβ production, forming a positive feedback loop. However, not all studies reported sensitivity and specificity data, limiting the pooling of these variables.
Conclusion: Plasma lncRNA levels have the potential to serve as diagnostic biomarkers for AD. Further research is needed to validate the diagnostic accuracy of specific lncRNAs.
Acknowledgments: We acknowledge the assistance of the Clinical Research Development Unit of Tabriz Valiasr Hospital, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran, in this research.
Citation: Shobeiri P, Alilou S, Jaberinezhad M, Zare F, Karimi N, Maleki S, et al. (2023) Circulating long non-coding RNAs as novel diagnostic biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease (AD): A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS ONE 18(3): e0281784. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281784
Editor: Seyed Mohammad Gheibihayat, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
Received: November 12, 2022; Accepted: February 1, 2023; Published: March 22, 2023
Copyright: © 2023 Shobeiri et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Data Availability: All relevant data are within the manuscript and its Supporting Information files.
Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
