Identification of serum miR-378 and miR-575 as diagnostic indicators and predicting surgical prognosis in human epilepsy

BACKGROUND: Epilepsy (EP) is a common neurological disorder which is characterized by excessive abnormal synchronization of neuronal discharges in the brain due to chronic recurrent seizures of multiple etiologies. Variety of microRNAs have been associated with the occurrence and development of EP. This study aimed to determine the aberrant expression of miR-378 and miR-575 in EP patients to validate their potential to distinguish EP from healthy patients. METHODS: RT-qPCR was used to determine the expressions of miR-378 and miR-575 from serum specimens of 106 EP and 103 control individuals. Clinical indicators between EP patients and controls were assessed. Based on surgical outcome, EP patients were further divided into Engel I-IV EP. The potentials of miR-378 and miR-575 in discriminating EP from healthy participants and predicting surgical prognosis were calculated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. RESULTS: We found the miR-378 and miR-575 were significantly declined (P<0.001) in Engel I-II and III-IV EP patients with no difference in clinical parameters compared. Moreover, miR-378 and miR-575 displayed high sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in distinguishing EP patients and predicting surgical outcomes. Moreover, after surgical treatment, miR-378 and miR-575 levels were increased compared with those at admission, suggesting their potentials in treatment response. CONCLUSIONS: miR-378 and miR-575 could be utilized as novel and non-invasive serum biomarkers in discriminating EP from healthy controls and predicting surgical outcome, shedding new insights on epileptogenesis and EP treatment.