US Department of Defense
BLAST INJURY RESEARCH
COORDINATING OFFICE
Advancing Blast Injury Research to Protect and Heal Those Who Serve

Remote blast-related mild traumatic brain injury is associated with differential expression of exosomal microRNAs identified in neurodegenerative and immunological processes

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting from training or operations can increase risk of neurobehavioral symptoms and neurodegeneration, though the mechanism underlying these injuries (even between blast and similar injuries such as blunt-related TBI) remains the subject of debate. In this study, researchers identified exosomal microRNA (miRNA) biomarkers associated with blast-related mild TBI (mTBI). To accomplish this goal, researchers recruited participants through the Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium Multicenter Observational Study recruitment sites, evaluated patient's symptoms (using the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory and DSM-5 PTSD Checklist), and reviewed the exosomal expression levels of 800 miRNAs among three groups (e.g., blast-related mTBI, blunt-related mTBI, and combat-deployed controls) to identify candidate biomarkers for blast-induced mTBI. The team identified 23 upregulated miRNAs associated with blast compared to blunt-related mTBI and 23 upregulated/1 downregulated miRNAs compared to the noon-TBI control group. These miRNA biomarkers are associated with neurodegenerative and inflammatory processes. These findings, if replicated in a larger sample, could lead to prognostic biomarkers for use after blast exposure. For more information regarding this article, please read more here…

Reference:

Devoto, C., Guedes, V.A., Lai, C., Leete, J.J., Mithani, S., Edwards, K., Vorn, R., Qu, B.X., Wilde, E.A., Walker, W.C., Diaz-Arrastia, R., Werner, J.K., Kenney, K., Gill, J.M. (2022). Remote blast-related mild traumatic brain injury is associated with differential expression of exosomal microRNAs identified in neurodegenerative and immunological processes. Brain Injury, 36(5):652-661. doi: 10.1080/02699052.2022.2042854. Epub 2022 Mar 24. PMID: 35322723.

Last modified: 13-Dec-2022