Attending a social event and consuming alcohol is associated with changes in serum microRNA: a before and after study in healthy adults

• Published in: Biomarkers Vol. 23; no. 8; pp. 781 - 786
• Main Authors: ten Berg, P. W., Shaffer, J., Vliegenthart, A. D. B., McCrae, J., Sharkey, N., Webb, D. J., Dear, J. W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 17-11-2018
• Subjects: Adult; alcohol; Alcohol Drinking - blood; Alcohol Drinking - genetics; biomarkers; Ethanol - blood; Female; Healthy Volunteers; Hepatotoxicity; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Male; microRNA; MicroRNAs - blood; Recreation; Sequence Analysis, RNA; sequencing; alcohol; microRNA; Hepatotoxicity; biomarkers; sequencing
• ISSN: 1354-750X; 1366-5804
• DOI: 10.1080/1354750X.2018.1499128

Purpose: Circulating microRNAs represent a reservoir for biomarker discovery. Our objective was to profile the change in human circulating microRNA associated with recreational use of alcohol at a social event.
Material and methods: Blood was collected from healthy volunteers (N = 16) before and after recreational consumption of alcohol (ethanol). Biochemistry, hematology and ethanol measurements were performed. The change in the serum small RNA fraction was quantified by RNA sequencing.
Results: Blood ethanol was undetectable at study entry in all subjects [<10 mg/dL]. After consuming alcohol the median concentration was 89 mg/dL [IQR: 71-138. Min-max 20-175]. There were no changes in biochemistry and hematology parameters. Serum RNA sequencing identified 1371 small RNA species (1305 microRNAs). There were significant increases [adjusted p-value <0.05, fold increase 2 or more] in 265 microRNAs, around a fifth of the total [median fold increase 2.3 [IQR: 2.1-2.5; Max: 3.7]]. miR-185-5p decreased following alcohol exposure [adjusted p-value <0.05, fold decrease 2 or more].
Conclusions: The microRNA composition of human serum is dynamic and environmental factors may have a significant impact. Within its context of use the fold change 'signal' of a microRNA must be large enough to negate the risk of false results due to background 'noise'.