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MEG3 lncRNA is over-expressed in autism spectrum disorder. Metab Brain Dis 2021 Dec;36(8):2235-2242

Date

06/12/2021

Pubmed ID

34115273

DOI

10.1007/s11011-021-00764-x

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85107727397 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   6 Citations

Abstract

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) comprise a group of regulatory transcripts which partake in the biological processes leading to development of neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We measured circulatory levels of MEG3, GAS5, CYTOR, UCA1 lncRNAs and CRYBG3 gene in children with ASD and controls. Expression of MEG3 was remarkably higher in children with ASD when compared with controls (Posterior Beta = 2.919, SE = 0.51, P value < 0.0001). This difference was significant among male subgroups (Posterior Beta = 2.913, SE = 0.56, P value < 0.0001) as well as female subgroups (95% CrI for Beta = [0.29, 2.4], SE = 0.53, P value < 0.0001). Expression levels of other lncRNAs or CRYBG3 were not different between children with ASD and controls. Among children with ASD, the most robust correlations were found between GAS5/CYTOR, CYTOR/UCA1 and GAS5/UCA1 with correlation coefficients of 0.83, 0.83 and 0.73, respectively. Among controls, GAS5/UCA1, MEG3/UCA1 and GAS5/MEG3 pairs had the highest correlation coefficients (0.89, 0.84 and 0.80, respectively). ROC curve analysis revealed that MEG3 can distinguish children with ASD from controls with diagnostic power of 0.792 (P value < 0.0001). This value was higher among male subgroups (AUC = 0.84, P value < 0.0001) compared with female subgroups (AUC = 0.727, P value = 0.0727). The current research highlights the role of MEG3 in ASD and provides clues for depiction of an lncRNA network with possible contribution in the pathogenesis of ASD.

Author List

Taheri M, Honarmand Tamizkar K, Omrani S, Arsang-Jang S, Ghafouri-Fard S, Omrani MD

Author

Shahram Arsang-Jang Postdoctoral Fellow in the Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin




MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Autism Spectrum Disorder
Child
Female
Humans
Male
RNA, Long Noncoding
ROC Curve