Expression and Bioinformatics Analysis of Key miRNAs in Stored Red Blood Cells

INTRODUCTION: Erythrocyte transfusion is the most common therapeutic procedure in hospitalized patients. Adding standard preservatives to red blood cells allows them to be stored for up to 42 days. However, whether storage has an effect on the erythrocyte transcriptome has not been well-studied. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to explore the change of key risk microRNA (miRNAs) in stored erythrocytes. METHODS: We reanalyzed differentially expressed genes in the gene expression dataset GSE114990 and predicted their target genes, followed by experimental Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Furthermore, the PPI network of target genes was constructed by the STRING database, and the module analysis was carried out. RESULTS: We found two differential miRNAs, which were hsa-miR-1245a and hsa-miR-381. Enrichment analysis of GO and KEGG pathways confirmed that these target genes were significantly enriched in organ and system development, anchoring junction, transcription factor binding, and pathways of cancer. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the miRNAs hsa-miR-381 and hsa-miR-1245a may serve as biomarkers for storage products of erythrocytes.