Diagnosis of Cutaneous Acute Graft‑Versus‑Host Disease Through Circulating Plasma miR-638, miR-6511b-5p, miR-3613-5p, miR-455-3p, miR-5787, and miR-548a-3p as Prospective Noninvasive Biomarkers Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Marzieh Izadifard
Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology and Cell Therapy, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorMohammad Ahmadvand
Cell Therapy and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology, and Cell Therapy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorHossein Pashaiefar
Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology and Cell Therapy, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorKamran Alimoghadam
Cell Therapy and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology, and Cell Therapy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorAmir Kasaeian
Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology and Cell Therapy, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorMaryam Barkhordar
Cell Therapy and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology, and Cell Therapy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorGhazal Seghatoleslami
Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorMohammad Vaezi
Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology and Cell Therapy, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorArdeshir Ghavamzadeh
Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology and Cell Therapy, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
ATMP Department, Breast Cancer Research Center, Motamed Cancer Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Marjan Yaghmaie
Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology and Cell Therapy, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Correspondence: Marjan Yaghmaie ([email protected])
Search for more papers by this authorMarzieh Izadifard
Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology and Cell Therapy, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorMohammad Ahmadvand
Cell Therapy and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology, and Cell Therapy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorHossein Pashaiefar
Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology and Cell Therapy, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorKamran Alimoghadam
Cell Therapy and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology, and Cell Therapy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorAmir Kasaeian
Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology and Cell Therapy, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorMaryam Barkhordar
Cell Therapy and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology, and Cell Therapy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorGhazal Seghatoleslami
Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorMohammad Vaezi
Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology and Cell Therapy, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorArdeshir Ghavamzadeh
Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology and Cell Therapy, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
ATMP Department, Breast Cancer Research Center, Motamed Cancer Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Marjan Yaghmaie
Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology and Cell Therapy, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Correspondence: Marjan Yaghmaie ([email protected])
Search for more papers by this authorFunding: The current research benefited from the funding granted by Dr. Marjan Yaghmaie (Grant # 99-2-107-48701) and Dr. Mohammad Ahmadvand from Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, and Student Research Committee (Proposal No. 9721598002), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
ABSTRACT
Background
There are currently no laboratory tests that can accurately predict the likelihood of developing acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD), a patient's response to treatment, or their survival chance. This research aimed to establish circulating miRNAs as diagnostic, prognostic, or predictive biomarkers of aGVHD.
Methods
In a prospective cohort, we studied the incidence of cutaneous aGVHD in AML patients undergoing allo-HSCT at Shariati Hospital in Tehran, Iran during 2020–2023. Patients with cutaneous aGVHD were labeled as the case group, while patients without cutaneous aGVHD were selected as the control group. Accordingly, the expression levels of six significant miRNAs (miR-638, miR-6511b-5p, miR-3613-5p, miR-455-3p, miR-5787, miR-548a-3p) were evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RTqPCR) in three different time-points: before transplantation, on day 14 and day 21 after transplantation.
Results
The levels of plasma miR-455-3p, miR-5787, miR-638, and miR-3613-5p were significantly downregulated, while miR-548a-3p, and miR-6511b-5p were significantly upregulated in individuals with cutaneous aGVHD in comparison to patients without GVHD. Additionally, the possibility for great diagnostic accuracy for cutaneous aGVHD was revealed by ROC curve analysis of differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs).
Conclusion
The study findings encourage us to hypothesize that the aforementioned miRNAs may contribute to the predominance of aGVHD, particularly low-grade cutaneous aGVHD.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open Research
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.
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