MicroRNA profiling in serum and humor vitreous of patients affected by vitreoretinal diseases

Abstract Background To analyze the differential expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) in humor vitreous and serum of patients affected by vitreomacular diseases (VMD) and rhegmatogeneous retinal detachment (RRD). Secondly, to assess their correlation with perfusion parameters during post-operative follow-ups. Methods Patients diagnosed with vitreomacular interface disease (VMD) and rhegmatogeneous retinal detachment (RRD) scheduled for pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) were included in our prospective interventional study. All patients underwent multimodal imaging including optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTa) and vitreous humor and serum sampling. Results A total of 38 participants were enrolled. Among them, 19 (50%) were diagnosed with VMD and 19 (50%) with macula on- RRD. Among the 105 commonly expressed sequences, six miRNAs (hsa-miR-21-5p, hsa-miR-222-3p, hsa-miR-451a, hsa-miR-146a, hsa-miR-144-3p and hsa-miR-320a) were significantly upregulated, despite differences in folds between the vitreous humor and serum levels. In both groups of diseases, hsa-miR-320a showed a significant correlation with the superficial capillary plexus (SCP) macular vessel density in RRD (rho = 0.499) and iVMD (rho = 0.636) while hsa-miR-144-3p exhibited a negative correlation (rho = −0.776) with the SCP variation in the iVMD group. Conclusion The differential expression of miRNAs in patients affected by VMD and RRD, alongside their correlation with perfusion parameters, supports miRNA application in clinical practice as valuable biomarkers for their potential predictive role.