MicroRNA Profile in Menopausal Women with Insomnia: A Pilot Study
摘要
The microRNA profile in the blood plasma of menopausal women with insomnia, defined by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), was investigated in a two-stage longitudinal study, with 15 participants in each stage and a 12-month interval between them. Twelve women participated at both stages, and no individuals transitioned between groups in stage II. More than 4000 microRNAs and their isoforms were detected across the cohorts. Differential expression analysis revealed that only miR-412-5p was significantly different between the groups in both stages of the study (p < 0.05). Pathway enrichment analysis indicated that three predicted target genes of miR-412-5p (FUT4, FUT1, and ST3GAL6) are components of the glycosphingolipid biosynthesis lacto and neolacto series pathway (hsa00601) (p = 0.87 × 10–16). These findings suggest that miR-412-5p may represent a promising molecular target for the development of novel therapeutic strategies for insomnia in menopausal women.