Objective: We evaluated microRNAs (miRNAs) as potential biomarkers for Alzheimer disease (AD) by analyzing the expression level of miRNAs in CSF of patients with AD dementia and nonaffected control subjects.
Methods: Using quantitative PCR, we profiled the expression level of 728 miRNAs in CSF of nonaffected control subjects and patients with clinically ascertained AD dementia, and we further compared the expression level of candidate miRNAs in 37 control subjects and 35 patients with AD dementia.
Results: The level of hsa-miR-27a-3p in CSF is reduced in patients with dementia due to AD in 2 different cohorts of subjects (cohort 1: p = 0.008; cohort 2: p = 0.015; 2-tailed unpaired Welch t test). Moreover, low levels of hsa-miR-27a-3p were accompanied by high CSF tau levels and low CSF β-amyloid levels.
Conclusions: Our pilot study highlights hsa-miR-27a-3p as a candidate biomarker for AD and provides the groundwork for further confirmation studies in larger cohorts and in other hospitals.