BACKGROUND Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have recently been proposed to be biomarkers for various diseases including cancer and cardiovascular disease. Erythrocytes are a major source of miRNAs in blood. However, it remains unknown how miRNA levels in serum are influenced by miRNAs in erythrocytes. In this study, we investigated the relationships among serum levels of miRNAs that are contained in erythrocytes. METHODS Participants were middle-aged healthy Japanese men. Total miRNAs in serum from each participant were analyzed using the 3D-Gene miRNA Oligo chip. Relationships among the levels of eleven miRNAs (miR-103a-3p, -144-3p, -15a-5p, -16--5p, -26a-5p, -423-5p, -451a, -484, -486-5p, -92a-3p, and -93-5p) that have been reported to exist in erythrocytes were investigated by using correlation analysis. RESULTS Among 55 pairs prepared by the above 11 miRNAs, there were significant correlations between miRNA levels of 31 pairs. In principal component analysis, 4 major erythrocyte-derived miRNAs, miR-16-5p, -451a, -486-5p and -92a-3p, were included in the first principal component. There were strong correlations between miR-16-5p and -451a levels (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient: 0.920) and between miR-486-5p and -92a-3p levels (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient: 0.863). CONCLUSION There are significant associations among serum levels of erythrocyte-derived miRNAs, and these associations should be taken into account when considering the miRNAs as disease biomarkers.

中文翻译：

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健康供体血清中红细胞衍生的microRNA之间的关系。

背景技术近来，循环微RNA（miRNA）已被提议作为包括癌症和心血管疾病在内的各种疾病的生物标记。红细胞是血液中miRNA的主要来源。但是，尚不清楚血清中的miRNA水平如何受到红细胞中miRNA的影响。在这项研究中，我们调查了红细胞中所含miRNA的血清水平之间的关系。方法参加者为日本中年健康男性。使用3D-Gene miRNA Oligo芯片分析每个参与者血清中的总miRNA。十一个miRNA（miR-103a-3p，-144-3p，-15a-5p，-16--5p，-26a-5p，-423-5p，-451a，-484，-486-5p）之间的关系使用相关分析研究了已报道存在于红细胞中的-，-92a-3p和-93-5p）。结果在以上11种miRNA制备的55对中，有31对的miRNA水平之间存在显着相关性。在主成分分析中，第一个主成分包括4种主要的红细胞源miRNA，即miR-16-5p，-451a，-486-5p和-92a-3p。在miR-16-5p和-451a水平之间（Spearman等级相关系数：0.920）以及在miR-486-5p和-92a-3p水平之间（Spearman等级相关系数：0.863）有很强的相关性。结论血清红细胞来源的miRNA之间存在显着的关联，在将miRNA视为疾病生物标记物时应考虑这些关联。miR-16-5p，-451a，-486-5p和-92a-3p包含在第一个主要成分中。在miR-16-5p和-451a水平之间（Spearman等级相关系数：0.920）以及在miR-486-5p和-92a-3p水平之间（Spearman等级相关系数：0.863）有很强的相关性。结论血清红细胞来源的miRNA之间存在显着的关联，在将miRNA视为疾病生物标记物时应考虑这些关联。miR-16-5p，-451a，-486-5p和-92a-3p包含在第一个主要成分中。在miR-16-5p和-451a水平之间（Spearman等级相关系数：0.920）以及在miR-486-5p和-92a-3p水平之间（Spearman等级相关系数：0.863）有很强的相关性。结论血清红细胞来源的miRNA之间存在显着的关联，在将miRNA视为疾病生物标记物时应考虑这些关联。