miRNA-146-a, miRNA-21, miRNA-143, miRNA-29-b and miRNA-223 as Potential Biomarkers for Atopic Dermatitis

Background/Objectives: Recently, epigenetic mechanisms have been recognized as crucial in atopic dermatitis development. The emphasis of this research was on ex-panding existing knowledge about the epigenetic aspects of atopic dermatitis, as well as identifying new molecules that could serve as disease biomarkers. Methods: The re-search was conducted as a prospective study examining two groups: the group with atopic dermatitis (50 patients) and the control group (50 healthy adults). The serum levels of total immunoglobulin E (IgE) and eosinophil count (Eos%) were done in rou-tine laboratory analyses, and the detection of microRNAs from peripheral blood was performed using RT-PCR. Results: Analysis of selected miRNA expression in patients with atopic dermatitis and controls revealed that only the expression and the relative expression of miRNA-146a were statistically significantly higher in patients with atopic dermatitis than in the control group (p=0.042 and p=0.021, respectively). There was a weak positive correlation between miRNA-146a expression and the eosinophilia / IgE level (r=0.22 and r=0.25, respectively). The miRNA-21, miRNA-29b, miRNA-143 and miRNA-223 were significantly upregulated in patients with higher SCORAD (p< 0.001, p< 0.001, p< 0.001 and p= 0.015, respectively). ROC curve analysis revealed the specificity of miRNA-146a as 82% and the sensitivity as 62%. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.7, confirming a valid diagnostic potential. Conclusions: Our find-ings imply that miRNA-146a may be a novel biomarker of atopic dermatitis and might play a specific role in the development of the disease, while miRNA-21, miRNA-29b and miRNA-223 may have an impact on the disease progression. Our study provides findings that can be utilized in future diagnostic applications, targeted personalized treatments and support the monitoring of atopic dermatitis treatment effectiveness.