MiR103a-3p and miR107 are related to adaptive coping in a cluster of fibromyalgia patients

PLoS One. 2020 Sep 17;15(9):e0239286. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239286. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Background: MicroRNA (miRNA) mainly inhibit post-transcriptional gene expression of specific targets and may modulate disease severity.

Objective: We aimed to identify miRNA signatures distinguishing patient clusters with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS).

Subjects and methods: We previously determined four FMS patient clusters labelled "maladaptive", "adaptive", "vulnerable", and "resilient". Here, we cluster-wise assessed relative gene expression of miR103a-3p, miR107, miR130a-3p, and miR125a-5p in white blood cell (WBC) RNA of 31 FMS patients and 16 healthy controls. Sum scores of pain-, stress-, and resilience-related questionnaires were correlated with miRNA relative gene expression. A cluster-specific speculative model of a miRNA-mediated regulatory cycle was proposed, and its potential targets verified by the online tool "target scan human".

Results: One-way ANOVA revealed lower gene expression of miR103a-3p, miR107, and miR130a-3p in FMS patients compared to controls (p < 0.05). Follow-up post-hoc tests indicated the highest peak of gene expression of miR103a-3p for the adaptive cluster (p < 0.05), i.e. in patients with low disability in all symptom categories. Gene expression of miR103a-3p correlated with FMS related disability and miR107 with the score "physical abuse" of the trauma questionnaire (p < 0.05). Target scan identified sucrose non-fermentable serine/threonine protein kinase, nuclear factor kappa-b, cyclin dependent kinase, and toll-like receptor 4 as genetic targets of the miR103a/107 miRNA family.

Conclusion: We show an association between upregulated gene expression of miR103a, tendentially of miR107, and adaptive coping in FMS patients. Validation of this pair of miRNA may enable to identify a somatic resilience factor in FMS.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adaptation, Psychological*
  • Female
  • Fibromyalgia / genetics*
  • Fibromyalgia / psychology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • MicroRNAs / genetics*
  • MicroRNAs / metabolism
  • Middle Aged
  • Resilience, Psychological*
  • Up-Regulation

Substances

  • MIRN103 microRNA, human
  • MIRN107 microRNA, human
  • MicroRNAs

Grants and funding

A.B. was funded by Evangelisches Studienwerk e.V. (available from: https://www.evstudienwerk.de/english/doctoral.html) and the study is part of her doctoral thesis in the framework of the German graduate program DoloRes (available from: http://www.dolo-res.de/). The funding was the salary for her thesis therefore no grant number is available. The study was in part funded by Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung (available from: https://www.ekfs.de/en). N.Ü. was the recipient of the grant with the grant number 2014_A129. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. There was no additional external funding received for this study.