Purpose: To identify circulating microRNAs (miRNA) associated with age-related
macular degeneration (AMD). Thus differentially expressed serum miRNA could be used
as AMD biomarkers.
Methods: This study involved total RNA isolation from sera from patients with atrophic
AMD (n = 10), neovascular AMD (n = 10), and age- and sex-matched controls (n =
10). A total of 377 miRNAs were coanalyzed using array technologies, and differentially
regulated miRNAs were determined. Extensive validation studies (n = 90) of serum from
AMD patients and controls confirmed initial results. Total RNA isolation was carried out
from sera from patients with atrophic AMD (n = 30), neovascular AMD (n = 30), and
controls (n = 30). Fourteen miRNAs from the discovery dataset were coanalyzed using
quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to validate their presence.
Results: Unsupervised hierarchical clustering indicated that AMD serum specimens
have a different miRNA profile to healthy controls. We successfully identified and
validated the differentially regulated miRNAs in serum from AMD patients versus
controls. The biomarker potential of three miRNAs (miR-126, miR-19a, and miR-410) was
confirmed by qRT-PCR, with significantly increased quantities in serum of AMD patients
compared with healthy controls.
Conclusions: Increased quantities of miR-126, miR-410, and miR-19a in serum from
AMD patients indicate that these miRNAs could potentially serve as diagnostic AMD
biomarkers. All three miRNAs significantly correlated with AMD pathogenesis.
Translational Relevance: The discovery of new AMD miRNA may act as biomarkers in
evaluating AMD diagnosis and prognosis
