Selected microRNAs as biomarkers in sarcoid-affected horses under immunotherapy with a mistletoe extract.
Abstract: We investigated microRNAs (miRNAs) as potential prognostic biomarkers for equine sarcoid (ES) disease. In a breed-, age-, and sex-matched case-controlled study involving 45 ES-affected and 15 control horses, we assessed the diagnostic, prognostic, and theragnostic value of 3 miRNAs (eca-miR-127, eca-miR-379, eca-miR-432) in horses treated with European mistletoe () extract versus placebo. Whole-blood miRNA concentrations were measured using reverse-transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) at 3 different times. We found that eca-miR-432 expression was lower in ES-affected (median = -1.93; 95% CI: -2.03 to -.86) compared to control (median = -1.71; 95% CI: -1.92 to -1.6) horses ( = 0.03, = 0.3; 95% CI: 0.024-0.57) with a median difference of -1.93 versus -1.71, respectively. The ROC curve analysis indicated an area under the curve of 0.71 (95% CI: 0.51-0.84; = 0.005) with a sensitivity of 74% (95% CI: 61-88%) and a specificity of 73% (95% CI: 39-94%) to diagnose ES. However, none of the miRNAs evaluated had prognostic potential or significant changes in expression following treatment. Additionally, miRNA expression was not influenced by breed, sex, or season. Although whole-blood eca-miR-432 had moderate diagnostic potential for ES, identifying prognostic miRNA biomarkers for ES remains a challenge.
Publication Date: 2025-10-03 PubMed ID: 41039872PubMed Central: PMC12494582DOI: 10.1177/10406387251362820Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Cite This Article
APA
Beermann A, Hamza E, Reinhard S, Koch C, Oberhänsli T, Unger L.
(2025).
Selected microRNAs as biomarkers in sarcoid-affected horses under immunotherapy with a mistletoe extract.
J Vet Diagn Invest, 38(1), 33-40.
https://doi.org/10.1177/10406387251362820 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Departments of Livestock Sciences, Soil Sciences and Crop Sciences (FiBL), Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Frick, Switzerland.
- Department of Zoonoses, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
- Departments of Livestock Sciences, Soil Sciences and Crop Sciences (FiBL), Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Frick, Switzerland.
- Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Swiss Institute of Equine Medicine (ISME), Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
- Departments of Livestock Sciences, Soil Sciences and Crop Sciences (FiBL), Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Frick, Switzerland.
- Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Swiss Institute of Equine Medicine (ISME), Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Horses
- Horse Diseases / diagnosis
- Horse Diseases / blood
- Horse Diseases / therapy
- Horse Diseases / drug therapy
- MicroRNAs / blood
- MicroRNAs / genetics
- MicroRNAs / metabolism
- Male
- Female
- Biomarkers / blood
- Plant Extracts / therapeutic use
- Sarcoidosis / veterinary
- Sarcoidosis / diagnosis
- Sarcoidosis / drug therapy
- Sarcoidosis / therapy
- Sarcoidosis / blood
- Case-Control Studies
- Immunotherapy / veterinary
- Viscum album / chemistry
Conflict of Interest Statement
Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
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