Comparison of the miRNAs Expression in Patients with Seasonal and Perennial Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma

The increase in the frequenccy of allergic disease in recent years thought to be explain by epigenetic changesas a result of gene-environment interactions. In this study we aimed to identify the miRNAs which may have a role in disease pothogenesis in children with allergic rhinitis and asthma by determining of the changes in expression of some circulating miRNAs. The study included 20 healthy children, 20 seasonal allergic rhinitis, 20 asthmatic and 12 perennial allergic rhinitis children. Patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis were evaluated comparatively in and out of the allergen season. The changes in the expressions of miRNAs (miR-181a, miR-133b, miR-125b, miR-126 and miR-206) thought to be related to allergic diseases were determined by RT-PCR and compared to that of the control samples. The results were analyzed using the 2− ΔΔCT method. In seasonal AR (non-allergen season) group, miR-125b and miR-181a expression levels were observed to be lower than control group (p=0.039, p=0.014). In the seasonal AR group, in allergen season miR-125b and miR-181a miRNAs expression levels were observed to be higher than the out of allergen season (p=0.027, p=0.001). Also, in the group of patients with asthma and perennial allergic rhinitis, the expression of miR-206 was found to be decreased compared to the control group (p=0.002, p=0.024). Our study showed that there were significant differences in miRNA expression when the control group and seasonal AR patients were compared. Also, there were differences in expression levels in AR patients before and after the allergy season. In addition, different types of miRNA were found to be associated with the disease when the asthma and seasonal AR patients were compared. All these results showed that miR-181a, miR-125b can be a candidate biomarker for seasonal allergic rhinitis and miR-206 can be a candidate biomarker for non-atopic asthma.