Identification of serum microRNA signatures associated with autism spectrum disorder as promising candidate biomarkers.

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNA molecules with a well-recognized role in gene expression mostly at the post-transcriptional level. Recently, dysregulation of miRNAs and miRNA-mRNA interactions has been associated with CNS diseases, including numerous psychiatric disorders. Dynamic changes in the expression profiles of circulating miRNA are nowadays regarded as promising non-invasive biomarkers that may facilitate the accurate and timely diagnosis of complex conditions.

Comparative Expression Analysis of Human Endogenous Retrovirus Elements in Peripheral Blood of Children with Specific Language Impairment.

Specific language impairment (SLI) is a psychiatric condition with a complex etiology and a substantial genetic basis that affects children's verbal communication abilities. In this study, we examined the expression of five different human endogenous retrovirus elements (HERVs) in a cohort of 25 children with SLI and 25 healthy children in the control group. Human endogenous retrovirus elements, a diverse group of repetitive DNA sequences, can potentially cause considerable genetic heterogeneity.

Investigation of fasciculation and elongation protein ζ-1 (FEZ1) in peripheral blood reveals differences in gene expression in patients with schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia (SZ) is a chronic neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by affective, neuromorphological and cognitive impairment, deteriorated social functioning and psychosis with underlying molecular abnormalities, including gene expression changes. Observations have suggested that fasciculation and elongation protein ζ-1 (FEZ1) may be implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Nevertheless, our current knowledge of the expression of FEZ1 in peripheral blood of schizophrenia patients remains unclear.