Tissue and Circulating MicroRNA Co-Expression Analysis Reveals Potential Involvement of miRNAs in the Pathobiology of Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia
September 2017
in “
Journal of Investigative Dermatology
”
TLDR Certain miRNAs might be involved in a hair loss condition called frontal fibrosing alopecia and could possibly help in its diagnosis.
The study investigated the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) by analyzing plasma from 10 FFA patients and 10 controls, and scalp biopsies from another 7 FFA patients and 7 controls. They found 17 miRNAs common to both tissue and circulating networks and identified 9 miRNAs associated with the FFA phenotype. Four circulating miRNAs (hsa-let-7d-5p, hsa-miR-18a-5p, has-miR-20a-5p, and hsa-miR-19a-3p) were suggested as potential biomarkers for FFA, but the study emphasized the need for further research with larger cohorts to validate these findings.