Exosomal miR-184 in the aqueous humor of patients with central serous chorioretinopathy: a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker

Background Central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) is the fourth most prevalent retinal disease leading to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinal atrophy. However, CSC's pathogenesis and therapeutic target need to be better understood. Results We investigated exosomal microRNA in the aqueous humor of CSC patients using next-generation sequencing (NGS) to identify potential biomarkers associated with CSC pathogenesis. Bioinformatic evaluations and NGS were performed on exosomal miRNAs obtained from AH samples of 62 eyes (42 CSC and 20 controls). For subgroup analysis, patients were divided into treatment responders (CSC-R, 17 eyes) and non-responders (CSC-NR, 25 eyes). To validate the functions of miRNA in CECs, primary cultured-human choroidal endothelial cells (hCEC) of the donor eyes were utilized for in vitro assays. NGS detected 376 miRNAs. Our results showed that patients with CSC had 12 significantly upregulated and 17 downregulated miRNAs compared to controls. miR-184 was significantly upregulated in CSC-R and CSC-NR patients compared to controls and higher in CSC-NR than CSC-R. In vitro assays using primary cultured-human choroidal endothelial cells (hCEC) demonstrated that miR-184 suppressed the proliferation and migration of hCECs. STC2 was identified as a strong candidate for the posttranscriptional down-regulated target gene of miR-184. Conclusion Our findings suggest that exosomal miR-184 may serve as a biomarker reflecting the angiostatic capacity of CEC in patients with CSC.