Alterations in microRNA of extracellular vesicles associated with major depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity and anxiety disorders in adolescents

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are present in numerous peripheral bodily fluids and function in critical biological processes, including cell-to-cell communication. Most relevant to the present study, EVs contain microRNAs (miRNAs), and initial evidence from the field indicates that miRNAs detected in circulating EVs have been previously associated with mental health disorders. Here, we conducted an exploratory longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis of miRNA expression in serum EVs from adolescent participants. We analyzed data from a larger ongoing cohort study, evaluating 116 adolescent participants at two time points (wave 1 and wave 2) separated by three years. Two separate data analyses were employed: A cross-sectional analysis compared individuals diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Anxiety disorders (ANX) and Attention deficit/Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with individuals without psychiatric diagnosis at each time point. A longitudinal analysis assessed changes in miRNA expression over time between four groups showing different diagnostic trajectories (persistent diagnosis, first incidence, remitted and typically developing/control). Total EVs were isolated, characterized by size distribution and membrane proteins, and miRNAs were isolated and sequenced. We then selected differentially expressed miRNAs for target prediction and pathway enrichment analysis. In the longitudinal analysis, we did not observe any statistically significant results. In the cross-sectional analysis: in the ADHD group, we observed an upregulation of miR-328-3p at wave 1 only; in the MDD group, we observed a downregulation of miR-4433b-5p, miR-584-5p, miR-625-3p, miR-432-5p and miR-409-3p at wave 2 only; and in the ANX group, we observed a downregulation of miR-432-5p, miR-151a-5p and miR-584-5p in ANX cases at wave 2 only. Our results identified previously observed and novel differentially expressed miRNAs and their relationship with three mental health disorders. These data are consistent with the notion that these miRNAs might regulate the expression of genes associated with these traits in genome-wide association studies. The findings support the promise of continued identification of miRNAs contained within peripheral EVs as biomarkers for mental health disorders.