Circulating miRNAs as a Predictive Biomarker of the Progression from Prediabetes to Diabetes: Outcomes of a 5-Year Prospective Observational Study

Due to a global increase in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), there is an urgent need for early identification of prediabetes, as these people have the highest risk of developing diabetes. Circulating miRNAs have shown potential as progression biomarkers in other diseases. This study aimed to conduct a baseline comparison of serum-circulating miRNAs in prediabetic individuals, with the distinction between those who later progressed to T2DM and those who did not. The expression levels of 798 miRNAs using NanoString technology were examined. Spearman correlation, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and logistic regression modeling were performed. Gene ontology (GO) and canonical pathway analysis were used to explore the biological functions of the miRNA target genes. The study revealed that three miRNAs were upregulated in the serum samples of patients who later progressed to T2DM. Pathway analysis showed that the miRNA target genes were mainly significantly enriched in neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) signaling in neurons, amyloid processing, and hepatic cholestasis. ROC analysis demonstrated that miR-491-5p, miR-1307-3p, and miR-298 can be introduced as a diagnostic tool for the prediction of T2DM (area under the curve (AUC) = 94.0%, 88.0%, and 84.0%, respectively). Validation by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) confirmed our findings. The results suggest that circulating miRNAs can potentially be used as predictive biomarkers of T2DM in prediabetic patients.

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Circulatory miRNA as a Biomarker for Therapy Response and Disease-Free Survival in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers12102810 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (10) ◽

pp. 2810

Author(s):

Muhammad Yogi Pratama ◽

Alessia Visintin ◽

Lory Saveria Crocè ◽

Claudio Tiribelli ◽

Devis Pascut

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Disease Free Survival ◽

Therapy Response ◽

Circulating Mirnas ◽

Serum Samples ◽

Free Survival ◽

Microarray Profiling ◽

Disease Free ◽

Arterial Chemoembolization

The clinical outcome of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment remains unsatisfactory, contributing to the high mortality of HCC worldwide. Circulating miRNAs have the potential to be a predictor of therapy response. Microarray profiling was performed in serum samples of 20 HCC patients before treatment. Circulating miRNAs associated with treatment response were validated in 86 serum HCC samples using the qRT-PCR system. Patients were treated either with curative treatments (resection or radiofrequency) or trans-arterial chemoembolization (TACE), and grouped according to therapy response in complete responders (CR) and partial responders or progressive disease (PRPD), following mRECIST criteria. Four miRNA candidates from the discovery phase (miR-4443, miR-4454, miR-4492, and miR-4530) were validated. Before therapy, miR-4454 and miR-4530 were up-regulated in CR to curative treatments (2.83 fold, p = 0.02 and 2.33 fold, p = 0.008, respectively) and were able to differentiate CR from PRPD (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.74, sens/spec 79/63% and AUC = 0.77, sens/spec 72/73%). On the contrary, miR-4443 was 1.95 times down-regulated in CR (p = 0.05) with an AUC of 0.72 (sens = 70%, spec = 60%) in distinguishing CR vs. PRPD. The combination of the three miRNAs was able to predict the response to curative treatment with an AUC of 0.84 (sens = 72%, spec = 75%). The higher levels of miR-4454 and miR-4530 in were associated to longer overall survival (HR = 2.79, p = 0.029 and HR = 2.97, p = 0.011, respectively). Before TACE, miR-4492 was significantly up-regulated in CR patients (FC = 2.67, p = 0.01) and able to differentiate CR from PRPD (AUC = 0.84, sens/spec 84.6/71%). We demonstrated that different miRNAs predictors can be used as potential prognostic circulating biomarkers according to the selected treatment for HCC.

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Increased plasma concentration of cell-free DNA precedes disease recurrence in children with high-risk neuroblastoma

10.21203/rs.2.13924/v3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Yan Su ◽

Lijun Wang ◽

Chiyi Jiang ◽

Zhixia Yue ◽

Hongjun Fan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Risk ◽

Maintenance Treatment ◽

Multidisciplinary Treatment ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Predictive Biomarkers ◽

Disease Recurrence ◽

High Rate ◽

Roc Curve Analysis ◽

Cell Free Dna ◽

Free Dna

Abstract Background: Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial solid tumor of childhood. The high rate of recurrence is associated with a low survival rate for patients with high-risk neuroblastoma. There is thus an urgent need to identify effective predictive biomarkers of disease recurrence. Methods: A total of 116 patients with high-risk neuroblastoma were recruited at Beijing Children’s Hospital between February 2015 and December 2017. All patients received multidisciplinary treatment, were evaluated for the therapeutic response, and then initiated on maintenance treatment. Blood samples were collected at the beginning of maintenance treatment, every 3 months thereafter, and at the time of disease recurrence. Plasma levels of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) were quantified by qPCR. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the ability of plasma cfDNA concentration to predict recurrence. Results: Of the 116 patients, 36 (31.0%) developed recurrence during maintenance treatment. The median time to recurrence was 19.00, 9.00, and 8.00 months for patients who had achieved complete response (n = 6), partial response (n = 25), and stable disease (n = 5), respectively, after multidisciplinary treatment. The median plasma cfDNA concentration at the time of recurrence was significantly higher than the concentration in recurrence-free patients throughout maintenance treatment (29.34 ng/mL vs 10.32 ng/mL). Patients recorded a plasma cfDNA level ≥29 ng/mL an average of 0.55 months before diagnosis of disease recurrence. ROC analysis of the power of plasma cfDNA to distinguish between patients with or without recurrence yielded an area under the curve of 0.825, with optimal sensitivity and specificity of 80.6% and 71.3%, respectively, at a cfDNA level of 12.93 ng/mL. Conclusions: High plasma cfDNA concentration is a potential molecular marker to signal disease recurrence in patients with high-risk neuroblastoma.

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Predictive Biomarkers for Postmyocardial Infarction Heart Failure Using Machine Learning: A Secondary Analysis of a Cohort Study

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine ◽

10.1155/2021/2903543 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 ◽

pp. 1-14

Author(s):

Feng Li ◽

Jin-Yu Sun ◽

Li-Da Wu ◽

Qiang Qu ◽

Zhen-Ye Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Failure ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Predictive Value ◽

Transcriptional Profiling ◽

Secondary Analysis ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Predictive Biomarkers ◽

Predictive Biomarker ◽

Postmyocardial Infarction

Background. There are few biomarkers with an excellent predictive value for postacute myocardial infarction (MI) patients who developed heart failure (HF). This study aimed to screen candidate biomarkers to predict post-MI HF. Methods. This is a secondary analysis of a single-center cohort study including nine post-MI HF patients and eight post-MI patients who remained HF-free over a 6-month follow-up. Transcriptional profiling was analyzed using the whole blood samples collected at admission, discharge, and 1-month follow-up. We screened differentially expressed genes and identified key modules using weighted gene coexpression network analysis. We confirmed the candidate biomarkers using the developed external datasets on post-MI HF. The receiver operating characteristic curves were created to evaluate the predictive value of these candidate biomarkers. Results. A total of 6,778, 1,136, and 1,974 genes (dataset 1) were differently expressed at admission, discharge, and 1-month follow-up, respectively. The white and royal blue modules were most significantly correlated with post-MI HF (dataset 2). After overlapping dataset 1, dataset 2, and external datasets (dataset 3), we identified five candidate biomarkers, including FCGR2A, GSDMB, MIR330, MED1, and SQSTM1. When GSDMB and SQSTM1 were combined, the area under the curve achieved 1.00, 0.85, and 0.89 in admission, discharge, and 1-month follow-up, respectively. Conclusions. This study demonstrates that FCGR2A, GSDMB, MIR330, MED1, and SQSTM1 are the candidate predictive biomarker genes for post-MI HF, and the combination of GSDMB and SQSTM1 has a high predictive value.

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Correlation of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) isoenzyme profile with outcome in advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) patients (pts) treated with chemotherapy and bevacizumab (BEV) or cediranib (CED).

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2012.30.15_suppl.e13541 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 30 (15_suppl) ◽

pp. e13541-e13541

Author(s):

Jair Bar ◽

Stuart Spencer ◽

Shethah Morgan ◽

Laura Pike ◽

David Cunningham ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Predictive Biomarkers ◽

Progression Free Survival ◽

Predictive Biomarker ◽

Total Serum ◽

Serum Samples ◽

Baseline Serum ◽

Ldh Isoenzymes ◽

Hypoxic Conditions ◽

Ldh Isoenzyme ◽

Agarose Electrophoresis

e13541 Background: There is a clinical need for predictive biomarkers of efficacy of VEGF signaling inhibitors (VSIs). LDH is a tetramer that can include any combination of the M and H subunits. LDH4 and 5 isoenzymes are composed mostly of the M subunit and are more abundant in hypoxic conditions. We speculated that the levels of LDH isoenzymes in pts serum may correlate with outcome of pts treated with VSIs. HORIZON I trial enrolled pts that were randomized to mFOLFOX6 with BEV or CED. A retrospective exploratory analysis was performed on baseline serum samples of these pts. Methods: Total serum LDH was tested on fresh samples during the conduct of the trial. About 2 years after the trial, frozen samples stored at -70 degrees were tested for total serum LDH and LDH isoenzymes, measured by agarose electrophoresis and a colorimetric enzymatic assay. Relative levels of M and H subunits were derived based on the known structure of each isoenzyme. Progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared by subgroups of total LDH and LDH isoenzyme levels. P values were not calculated for these exploratory analyses. Results: Baseline total LDH levels from fresh serum were available for 207 pts. Total and isoenzyme LDH levels were available for frozen serum samples of 189 pts. Total LDH in the frozen and fresh samples correlated (R=0.9). Distant isoenzymes (e.g. LDH1 and 5) were negatively correlated. High M/H subunits ratio correlated with poor OS (HR=1.804, 95%CI 1.24-2.620). A non-significant trend for better OS to CED-treated vs. BEV-treated pts was seen in pts with high M/H ratio (e.g., CED 30mg vs BEV HR=0.685, 95%CI 0.382-1.23). Conclusions: Evaluation of LDH isoenzymes is feasible using serum samples kept frozen for 2 years. A negative correlation is seen between hypoxic-related and oxic-related isoenzymes. In CRC pts treated with a VSI, LDH isoenzyme hypoxia-associated profile correlates with poorer outcome. LDH isoenzyme profile as a possible predictive biomarker for benefit from CED vs. BEV requires further investigation.

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Circulating Mir-130a in Multiple Myeloma and Extramedullary Myeloma Patients

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v124.21.2043.2043 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 124 (21) ◽

pp. 2043-2043 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lenka Kubiczkova-Besse ◽

Lenka Sedlarikova ◽

Fedor Kryukov ◽

Lenka Radova ◽

Jana Nekvindova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multiple Myeloma ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Newly Diagnosed ◽

Circulating Mirnas ◽

Serum Samples ◽

Reactive Protein ◽

Specificity And Sensitivity ◽

Healthy Donors ◽

Wide Range

Abstract Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of short, non-coding, single stranded RNAs regulating a broad spectrum of processes. Circulating miRNAs are an important emerging biomarker in cancer as well as a possible non-invasive diagnostic solution for a wide range of clinical disorders due to their high stability and association with disease state, although their source still remains uncertain. In multiple myeloma (MM), a plasma cell malignancy, circulating miRNAs have been reported to have a diagnostic and prognostic potential. It is therefore plausible to assume that they are involved in pathogenesis of this disease and thus could be used as diagnostic tool not only for MM, its extramedullary (EM) form but also for monitoring the clinical course of the disease. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to identify such miRNAs. Methods Screening analysis of 667 miRNAs was performed on 5 EM serum samples, 5 newly diagnosed MM samples and 6 healthy donors (HD) serum samples using TaqMan Low Density Arrays (TLDA) from Life Technologies. QPCR was performed for miR-130a on 118 serum samples obtained in Brno from newly diagnosed MM patients (pts) (35 pts), primary and secondary EM (35 pts), relapsed MM (18 pts) and HD (30). Further, 45 serum samples (12 diagnostic and 33 follow-up) of pts reaching VGPR/better response, enrolled in Italian CRD/MEL-200 and EMN-02 studies were used for circulating miRNA estimation. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to calculate specificity and sensitivity of the miRNA as a biomarker. Biochemical characteristics were also available for EM and MM pts from Brno. P values <0.05 were considered as significant. Results TLDA profiling revealed 14 deregulated miRNAs (all p<0.05, adjusted p<0.41) between MM pts and EM pts, and 20 miRNAs were on the top of the list of deregulated miRNAs between EM and HD serum samples (all p<0.05, adjusted p<0.40). MiR-130a was chosen for further verification by qPCR as it was on the top of the list of deregulated miRNAs between the groups. qPCR revealed that level of miR-130a was significantly decreased in MM and EM samples when compared with HD (all p<0.005); moreover, level of miR-130a was decreased also in EM when compared with MM sera (p<0.06). To discriminate EM pts from other groups, ROC curve was calculated. It revealed that miR-130a is potent to distinguish EM pts from HD with area under the curve (AUC) = 0.805, specificity of 86.7% and sensitivity of 65.7% using cut-off value = 3377 copies/1ng of miRNA/RNA. Most importantly, miR-130a was able to distinguish EM pts from newly diagnosed MM pts with AUC = 0.628, specificity of 94.3% and sensitivity of 28.6% using cut-off value = 1438 copies/1ng of miRNA/RNA, and EM pts from MM pts in relapse with AUC = 0.702, specificity of 94.4% and sensitivity of 28.6% using cut-off value = 1438 copies/1ng of miRNA/RNA. In the cohort of EM pts, miR-130a significantly correlated with most of clinically relevant parameters; there was a positive correlation with level of hemoglobin and thrombocytes count (rs=0.397 and 0.439, all p<0.05) and a negative correlation with levels of monoclonal immunoglobulin, β2-microglobulin and C-reactive protein (rs=-0.398, -0.427 and -0.488, all p<0.05) and it was also associated with higher ISS stage (p=0.017). Further, in the analysis of miR-130a dynamics in follow-up samples from Italy, we observed increase of miR-130a levels in 8/12 MM pts during the follow-up sampling (p<0.06) in comparison with diagnostic samples, whereas in remaining 4 MM pts it remained stable or decreased. Conclusions In this study, miR-130a was decreased in serum samples of pts developing EM disease and distinguished EM pts from newly diagnosed MM pts and relapsed/progressed MM pts with specificity over 90%. Further, we observed increased level of miR-130a in the follow-up samples of MM pts. It suggests that miR-130a could be associated with EM disease; however, underlying biology and origin of miR-130a still remains to be explored. Work was supported by grants IGA NT 12130, NT 14575 and NT 13190. Disclosures Palumbo: Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria; Array BioPharma: Honoraria; Genmab A/S: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen-Cilag: Consultancy, Honoraria; Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Consultancy, Honoraria; Onyx Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Honoraria; Sanofi Aventis: Honoraria.

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A Circulating miRNA Signature for Stratification of Breast Lesions among Women with Abnormal Screening Mammograms

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers11121872 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 1872

Author(s):

Sau Yeen Loke ◽

Prabhakaran Munusamy ◽

Geok Ling Koh ◽

Claire Hian Tzer Chan ◽

Preetha Madhukumar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multiple Testing ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Principal Component ◽

Classification Model ◽

Breast Lesions ◽

Mirna Signature ◽

Serum Samples ◽

Roc Curve Analysis ◽

Benign Breast Lesions ◽

Screening Mammograms

Although mammography is the gold standard for breast cancer screening, the high rates of false-positive mammograms remain a concern. Thus, there is an unmet clinical need for a non-invasive and reliable test to differentiate between malignant and benign breast lesions in order to avoid subjecting patients with abnormal mammograms to unnecessary follow-up diagnostic procedures. Serum samples from 116 malignant breast lesions and 64 benign breast lesions were comprehensively profiled for 2,083 microRNAs (miRNAs) using next-generation sequencing. Of the 180 samples profiled, three outliers were removed based on the principal component analysis (PCA), and the remaining samples were divided into training (n = 125) and test (n = 52) sets at a 70:30 ratio for further analysis. In the training set, significantly differentially expressed miRNAs (adjusted p < 0.01) were identified after correcting for multiple testing using a false discovery rate. Subsequently, a predictive classification model using an eight-miRNA signature and a Bayesian logistic regression algorithm was developed. Based on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis in the test set, the model could achieve an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.9542. Together, this study demonstrates the potential use of circulating miRNAs as an adjunct test to stratify breast lesions in patients with abnormal screening mammograms.

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Biomarker Identification and Pathway Analysis by Serum Metabolomics of Lung Cancer

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2015/183624 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Yingrong Chen ◽

Zhihong Ma ◽

Lishan Min ◽

Hongwei Li ◽

Bin Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lung Cancer ◽

Pathway Analysis ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Sphingolipid Metabolism ◽

Cytokeratin 19 ◽

Tumor Biomarker ◽

Diagnostic Model ◽

Roc Curve Analysis ◽

Metabolic Alterations ◽

Specificity And Sensitivity

Lung cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer death, for which no validated tumor biomarker is sufficiently accurate to be useful for diagnosis. Additionally, the metabolic alterations associated with the disease are unclear. In this study, we investigated the construction, interaction, and pathways of potential lung cancer biomarkers using metabolomics pathway analysis based on the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database and the Human Metabolome Database to identify the top altered pathways for analysis and visualization. We constructed a diagnostic model using potential serum biomarkers from patients with lung cancer. We assessed their specificity and sensitivity according to the area under the curve of the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves, which could be used to distinguish patients with lung cancer from normal subjects. The pathway analysis indicated that sphingolipid metabolism was the top altered pathway in lung cancer. ROC curve analysis indicated that glycerophospho-N-arachidonoyl ethanolamine (GpAEA) and sphingosine were potential sensitive and specific biomarkers for lung cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Compared with the traditional lung cancer diagnostic biomarkers carcinoembryonic antigen and cytokeratin 19 fragment, GpAEA and sphingosine were as good or more appropriate for detecting lung cancer. We report our identification of potential metabolic diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of lung cancer and clarify the metabolic alterations in lung cancer.

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Circulating MicroRNAs in the Second Trimester From Pregnant Women Who Subsequently Developed Preeclampsia: Potential Candidates as Predictive Biomarkers and Pathway Analysis for Target Genes of miR-204-5p

Frontiers in Physiology ◽

10.3389/fphys.2021.678184 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Marcelo R. Luizon ◽

Izabela M. C. A. Conceição ◽

Sarah Viana-Mattioli ◽

Mayara Caldeira-Dias ◽

Ricardo C. Cavalli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pregnant Women ◽

Early Development ◽

Target Genes ◽

Clinical Symptoms ◽

Expression Profiles ◽

Predictive Biomarkers ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Second Trimester ◽

Circulating Mirnas

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia (PE). However, the expression of circulating miRNAs was not analyzed in the second trimester of pregnancy, a period of major relevance to identify predictive biomarkers for PE. Therefore, we examined the expression profiles of 84 circulating miRNAs using a PCR array in plasma collected between 20 and 25 weeks of gestation from pregnant women, who subsequently developed PE and those who remained healthy during pregnancy, randomly selected from a prospective cohort. Overall, 23 miRNAs had a fold change > 2.0 and were considered to be upregulated in plasma from pregnant women who subsequently developed PE, even before the onset of clinical symptoms of PE. However, only miR-204-5p was statistically significant (P = 0.0082). Experimentally validated interactions for the target genes of miR-204-5p extracted from miRTarBase were used in the gene set functional enrichment analysis to identify Reactome pathways. The network connecting the 37 target genes for miR-204-5p revealed pathways of known pathophysiological relevance during the early development of PE and included key genes related to PE, such as BDNF, MMP-9, MALAT1, TGFBR2, and SIRT1. We further depicted downstream targets of SIRT1 that are related to the vascular endothelial function or implicated in the pathophysiology of PE, namely, FOXO1, NFκB, HIF-1α, NOS3, and PPAR-γ. Our novel findings provide for circulating miRNAs upregulated in the second trimester on plasma from pregnant women who subsequently developed PE that is potentially related to the early development of PE, which may guide further studies focused on the validation of potential predictive biomarkers in PE.

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Increased plasma concentration of cell-free DNA precedes disease recurrence in children with high-risk neuroblastoma

10.21203/rs.2.13924/v4 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Yan Su ◽

Lijun Wang ◽

Chiyi Jiang ◽

Zhixia Yue ◽

Hongjun Fan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Risk ◽

Maintenance Treatment ◽

Multidisciplinary Treatment ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Predictive Biomarkers ◽

Disease Recurrence ◽

High Rate ◽

Roc Curve Analysis ◽

Cell Free Dna ◽

Free Dna

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Integration of small RNAs, degradome, and transcriptome sequencing in Populus × euramericana “Neva” provides insights into the allelopathic interference of para-hydroxybenzoic acid

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/cjfr-2018-0316 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 50 (4) ◽

pp. 422-437 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Guoting Liang ◽

Jing Guo ◽

Shuyong Zhang ◽

Guangcan Zhang

Keyword(s):

Small Rnas ◽

Mirna Target ◽

Target Genes ◽

Expression Profiles ◽

Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽

Differentially Expressed ◽

Integrated Analysis ◽

Hydroxybenzoic Acid ◽

Differentially Expressed Mirnas ◽

Leaves And Roots

Allelopathy is a hot topic of research; however, little is known regarding microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles in plants in response to allelochemicals. In this study, we combined the analyses of the transcriptome, small RNAs (sRNAs), and the degradome to identify key regulatory miRNA-targeted circuits under para-hydroxybenzoic acid (pHBA) stress. A total of 739 and 673 miRNAs were identified in leaves and roots, respectively. Of those, 214 and 148 miRNAs were significantly differentially expressed and identified as pHBA-responsive miRNAs in leaves and roots, respectively. The target genes for the pHBA-responsive miRNAs are involved in signal transduction, response to stress, and secondary metabolite pathways. Furthermore, an integrated analysis of the miRNA–target expression profiles was used to screen the 60 differentially expressed target genes from the 46 differentially expressed miRNAs in the leaves and the 51 differentially expressed target genes from the 36 differentially expressed miRNAs in roots. This integrated analysis revealed 17 and 30 pairs of miRNA targets in the leaves and roots, respectively, which had negatively correlated expression profiles. According to a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis, 14 miRNA–target pairs also exhibited negative correlations. Moreover, four coexpression regulatory networks were constructed based on the profiles of the differentially expressed miRNA–target pairs. These results suggest that comprehensive analyses of transcriptomes, sRNAs, and the degradome provide a useful platform for investigating the molecular mechanism underlying the pHBA-induced stress response in plants.

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