miRNA expression profiling of cerebrospinal fluid in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage

OBJECTIVE MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression and therefore play important roles in many physiological and pathological processes. The aim of this pilot study was to determine the feasibility of extraction and subsequent profiling of miRNA from CSF samples in a pilot population of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage patients and establish if there is a distinct CSF miRNA signature between patients who develop cerebral vasospasm and those who do not. METHODS CSF samples were taken at various time points during the clinical management of a subset of SAH patients (SAH patient samples without vasospasm, n = 10; SAH patient samples with vasospasm, n = 10). CSF obtained from 4 patients without SAH was also included in the analysis. The miRNA was subsequently isolated and purified and then analyzed on an nCounter instrument using the Human V2 and V3 miRNA assay kits. The data were imported into the nSolver software package for differential miRNA expression analysis. RESULTS From a total of 800 miRNAs that...