{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T17:39:35Z","timestamp":1790789975545,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,26]],"date-time":"2024-02-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1708905600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004281","name":"Narodowe Centrum Nauki","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2018\/31\/B\/NZ5\/03280"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2018\/31\/B\/NZ5\/03280"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004281","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Genet."],"abstract":"<jats:p><jats:bold>Introduction:<\/jats:bold> Keratoconus (KTCN) is a corneal ectasia, characterized by a progressive thinning and protrusion of the cornea, with a complex etiology involving genetic, behavioral, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Previous studies indicated that microRNAs (miRNAs) could be involved in KTCN pathogenesis. This <jats:italic>in silico<\/jats:italic> study aimed to identify precursor microRNAs (pre-miRNAs) differentially expressed in KTCN corneas and to characterize mature miRNAs and their target genes.<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Materials and methods:<\/jats:bold> Expression levels of pre-miRNAs were retrieved from our previously obtained RNA sequencing data of 25 KTCN and 25 non-KTCN human corneas (PMID:28145428, PMID:30994860). Differential expression with FDR \u22640.01 and \u22651.5-fold changes were considered significant. Lists of target genes (target score \u226590) of mature miRNAs were obtained from miRDB. Revealed up-\/downregulated miRNAs and their target genes were assessed in databases and literature. Enrichment analyses were completed applying the DAVID database.<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Results:<\/jats:bold> From a total of 47 pre-miRNAs, six were remarkably upregulated (<jats:italic>MIR184<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>MIR548I1<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>MIR200A<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>MIR6728<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>MIR429<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>MIR1299<\/jats:italic>) and four downregulated (<jats:italic>MIR6081<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>MIR27B<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>MIR23B<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>MIR23A<\/jats:italic>) in KTCN corneas. Out of the 1,409 target genes, 220 genes with decreased and 57 genes with increased expression levels in KTCN samples vs non-KTCN samples were found. The extracellular matrix (ECM) organization, response to mechanical stimulus, regulation of cell shape, and signal transduction processes\/pathways were identified as distinctive in enrichment analyses. Also, processes associated with the regulation of transcription and DNA binding were listed.<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Conclusion:<\/jats:bold> Indicated miRNAs and their target genes might be involved in KTCN pathogenesis via disruption of crucial molecular processes, including ECM organization and signal transduction.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fgene.2024.1301676","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,26]],"date-time":"2024-02-26T04:48:39Z","timestamp":1708922919000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Differentially expressed microRNAs targeting genes in key pathways in keratoconus"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Dorota M.","family":"Nowak-Malczewska","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Joanna","family":"Swierkowska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marzena","family":"Gajecka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"604508","DOI":"10.1155\/2015\/604508","article-title":"Screening of the seed region of MIR184 in keratoconus patients from Saudi arabia","volume":"2015","author":"Abu-Amero","year":"2015","journal-title":"Biomed. 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