tiRNA-Gly-GCC-001 in major depressive disorder: Promising diagnostic and therapeutic biomarker

Background and Purpose: In major depressive disorder (MDD), exploration of biomarkers will be helpful in diagnosing the disorder as well as in choosing a treatment, and predicting the treatment response. Currently, tRNA-derived small ribonucleic acids (tsRNAs) have been established as promising non-invasive biomarker candidates that may enable a more reliable diagnosis or monitoring of various diseases. Herein, we aimed to explore tsRNA expression together with functional activities in MDD development. Experimental Approach: Serum samples were obtained from patients with MDD and healthy controls, and small RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) was used to profile tsRNA expression. Dysregulated tsRNAs in MDD were validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The diagnostic utility of specific tsRNAs and the expression of these tsRNAs after antidepressant treatment was analyzed. Key Results: In total, 38 tsRNAs were significantly differentially expressed in MDD samples relative to healthy individuals (34 upregulated and 4 downregulated). qRT-PCR was used to validate the expression of six tsRNAs that were upregulated in MDD (tiRNA-1:20-chrM. Ser-GCT, tiRNA-1:33-Gly-GCC-1, tRF-1:22-chrM.Ser-GCT, tRF-1:31-Ala-AGC-4-M6, tRF-1:31-Pro-TGG-2, and tRF-1:32-chrM. Gln-TTG). Interestingly, serum tiRNA-Gly-GCC-001 levels exhibited an area under the ROC curve of 0.844. Moreover, tiRNA-Gly-GCC-001 is predicted to suppress brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression. Furthermore, significant tiRNA-Gly-GCC-001 downregulation was evident following an eight-week treatment course and served as a promising baseline predictor of patient response to antidepressant therapy. Conclusion and Implications: Our current work firstly found that tiRNA-Gly-GCC-001 is a promising MDD biomarker candidate that can predict patient responses to antidepressant therapy.