The following is a summary of “Significant up-regulation of lncRNAs in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder,” published in the November 2023 issue of Neurology by Taheri et al.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) may play a role in the development and progression of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), an immune-related demyelinating disease.

Researchers performed a retrospective study to investigate the role of lncRNAs in the pathobiology and progression of NMOSD.

The analysis revealed the overexpression of specific genes, including NEAT1, PANDAR, MEG3, and TUG1 lncRNAs, in the peripheral blood of NMOSD patients compared to healthy individuals. MEG3 demonstrated the most pronounced over-expression in all patient subgroups when compared to their respective control groups. 

There were no significant differences observed in the expression of lncRNAs between male and female patients. MEG3 demonstrated outstanding performance distinguishing NMOSD cases from healthy individuals (Sensitivity and specificity values = 100%). The other lncRNAs also effectively differentiated NMOSD cases from control subjects (AUC values = 0.97, 0.89, and 0.88 for PANDAR, NEAT1 and TUG1, respectively).

The study found that NEAT1, PANDAR, MEG3, and TUG1 lncRNAs may be used as biomarkers for NMOSD.

Source: nature.com/articles/s41598-023-45457-w