miRNA expression is highly sensitive to a drug therapy in Parkinson's disease

Background: miRNAs may play a role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. It is necessary to continue the search for new miRNAs that may affect the development of neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease. Methods: 20 untreated patients with Parkinson's disease and 18 treated patients with Parkinson's disease (Hoehn and Yahr scores 1-2) were studied. An analysis of the levels of 11 miRNAs in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients was carried out using reverse transcription followed by real-time PCR. Results: The levels of miR-7, miR-9-3p, miR-9-5p, miR-129, and miR-132 were increased by more than three times in treated patients with Parkinson's disease compared with those of the controls. Conclusions: It is probable that miRNAs are very sensitive to drug therapy and that the effects of therapy observed may be associated with changes in the levels of these miRNAs and their target genes in patients with Parkinson's disease. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.