Plasma-derived extracellular vesicle microRNA as a potential biomarker associated with disease progression in non-severe dengue infection.

Authors

Gokulakannan Venkatesan, Wan Suriana Wan Ab Rahman, Wan Nazatul Shima Shahidan, Norliana Ghazali, Fatmawati Lambuk, Hisham Atan Edinur, Salfarina Iberahim, Azura Hussin, Saiful Azlan Mohamed, Alwi Muhd Besari Hashim

Published in

Infection. Aug 21, 2026. Epub Aug 21, 2026.

Abstract

Dengue can manifest as a mild febrile illness to life-threatening haemorrhagic fever. The early identification of patients at risk of disease progression remains challenging, particularly in non-severe cases. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the capability of extracellular vesicle plasma microRNA (miRNA) expression as a biomarker in dengue infection.
A total of 52 dengue patients (26 dengue with warning signs and 26 dengue without warning signs) were enrolled. Microarray analysis was utilised to profile miRNA derived from plasma extracellular vesicles to identify potential biomarkers associated with disease progression. Target genes were predicted bioinformatically to construct a miRNA-mRNA interaction network and identify key hub genes. The expression levels of miRNAs were validated through quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and their diagnostic efficacy was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Additional functional enrichment analysis, gene ontology, and co-expression studies were conducted. An in vitro experiment using THP-1 cells investigated how hsa-miR-107 regulates P2RY12 expression, with further validation of P2RY12 levels through RT-qPCR using GAPDH as a reference.
Microarray profiling identified 24 upregulated miRNAs in dengue patients with warning signs, notably hsa-miR-107 and hsa-miR-6879-5p, which were selected as potential biomarkers. Correlation analysis revealed that platelet count exhibited a statistically significant, moderate positive correlation with the hsa-miR-107 expression value. ROC analysis demonstrated strong diagnostic performance, linking these miRNAs to the platelet dysfunction and altered vascular permeability associated with disease severity. Furthermore, functional analysis supported the involvement of these pathways in dengue pathogenesis, and in vitro transfection confirmed that hsa-miR-107 actively decreases P2RY12 expression.
This study highlights the expression of hsa-miR-107 and hsa-miR-6879-5p as candidate biomarkers associated with clinical warning signs in dengue infection. These findings could pave the way for improved diagnostic and monitoring strategies.

PMID:
42627622
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 22 Aug 2026.

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