Multi-omics study reveals associations among neurotransmitter, extracellular vesicle-derived microRNA and psychiatric comorbidities during heroin and methamphetamine withdrawal

Despite decades of research in the field of substance withdrawal, molecular biomarkers and related mechanistic study have generally been lacking. In addition to known neurotransmitters, circulating miRNAs are found in small vesicles known as exosomes within blood that have diagnostic potential and are known to contribute to psychiatric disorders. The aim of this work was to characterize the changes in neurotransmitter and exosomal miRNA profiles during heroin and methamphetamine withdrawal using a cross-sectional study design, and to determine their associations to psychiatric comorbidities in a large group of patients with substance use disorders (SUDs). Using weighted gene co-expression network analysis, a series of known, conserved, and novel exosomal miRNAs were identified as being associated with the severity of anxiety and depression, as well as the con-centrations of neurotransmitters GABA, choline, and serotonin. Bioinformatics analyses established that the differences in the miRNA profile target signaling pathways are significantly associated with developmental and intellectual abnormalities. Notably, a set of dysregulated miRNA signatures including hsa-mia-451a and hsa-mir-21a resulted in an AUC of 0.966 and 0.861, respectively, for predicting the patients with SUDs. Furthermore, hsa-miR-744a-5p was positively correlated with serotonin, and its important role in maintaining neuronal devel-opment and function was revealed using an in vitro human induced pluripotent stem cells derived neuronal model. Our results suggest that the miRNA content of circulating exosomes represent a biomolecular finger-print of the progression of substance withdrawal and may uncover the putative mechanism of how these exosomal miRNAs contribute to psychiatric symptoms.

Automated summary

This study characterized the changes in neurotransmitter and exosomal miRNA profiles during heroin and methamphetamine withdrawal. It identified a series of miRNAs associated with anxiety, depression, and the concentrations of GABA, choline, and serotonin. Bioinformatics analyses revealed their association with developmental and intellectual abnormalities. Dysregulated miRNA signatures, including hsa-miR-451a and hsa-miR-21a, showed high accuracy in predicting patients with substance use disorders. Furthermore, hsa-miR-744a-5p was correlated with serotonin and has an important role in neuronal development and function.