Niloofar Boroumand - Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Sciences and Technologies, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
Amir Eshaghiyan - Department of Genetics, Arsanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arsanjan, Shiraz, Iran.
Parisa Behshood - Department of Microbiology, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran.
Behnaz Nateghi - Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Nourdanesh Institutions of Higher Education, Meimeh, Isfahan, Iran.
Farzaneh Emadi - Department of Genetics, Arsanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arsanjan, Shiraz, Iran.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the central nervous system. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs ۱۹–۲۴ nucleotides long, which are differentially expressed in different tissues. The role of miRNAs in MS remains unclear. We assessed miR-۱۰a transcript levels in MS patients during recurrence and two months after relapse. Materials and methods: In this case-control study, we used real-time PCR to examine miR-۱۰a expression in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of ۶۰ patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), ۳۰ during recurrence and ۳۰ two months after relapse, and ۳۰ healthy subjects who were referred to the MS Clinic of Kashani Hospital, Isfahan Province. In silico analysis was also performed on the validated miR-۱۰a targets using miRTarBase. Results: miR-۱۰a expression was higher in RRMS patients during recurrence and two months after relapse (p < ۰.۰۰۰۱ and p < ۰.۰۰۰۱, respectively) than in the healthy subjects. Furthermore, in silico molecular signaling enrichment analysis identified ۱۲ mRNAs as validated miR-۱۰a targets. Conclusion: The expression of miR-۱۰a was elevated in patients with RRMS compared to healthy subjects, suggesting that miR-۱۰a could be a potential biomarker for RRMS diagnosis.

Biomarker, miRNA, miR-۱۰a, Multiple sclerosis