Exploring Extracellular Vesicle microRNAs in Usher Syndrome Type 1B: Tear-Derived EVs as Indicators of Retinal Health

The goal of this study was to explore extracellular vesicles (EVs) from human tears and iPSC-derived RPE cells as biomarkers for Usher syndrome type 1B (USH1B), a rare inherited disorder causing deafness and retinitis pigmentosa. Researchers found that tear EVs showed higher levels and diversity of miRNAs, making them a promising non-invasive source for diagnosing USH1B. In contrast to patient-derived RPE cells, which did not express MYO7A protein despite similar expression levels in controls, the study identified specific microRNA signatures associated with retinal degeneration in both tear EVs and RPE-derived EVs. The findings suggest that tear EVs can serve as a useful biomarker for USH1B diagnosis, monitoring, and therapeutic development. Overall, this research aims to contribute to our understanding of disease mechanisms and identify potential targets for treatment in patients with Usher syndrome type 1B.

Type: Gene Regulation Study
Archiver: European Genome-Phenome Archive (EGA)

1 Dataset

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Dataset ID	Description	Technology	Samples
EGAD50000001709	Small RNA-Seq dataset of MicroRNA's found in tear extracellular vesicles (EVs) and hiPSC-derived retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells of Ushers Syndrome patients and control samples. 14 samples were isolated and assessed for quality before preparing libraries using the miReasy and TruSeq Small RNA Library Preparation Kit. Sequencing was performed on the Illumina NextSeq 2000 platform, generating paired end FASTQ files.	NextSeq 2000	14