Can balneotherapy modify microRNA expression levels in osteoarthritis? A comparative study in patients with knee osteoarthritis

• Published in: International journal of biometeorology 2017-12, Vol.61 (12), p.2153-2158
• Main Authors: Giannitti, C., De Palma, A., Pascarelli, N. A., Cheleschi, S., Giordano, N., Galeazzi, M., Fioravanti, Antonella
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal Physiology; Arthritis; Biocompatibility; Biological and Medical Physics; Biophysics; Blood; Blood levels; Comparative studies; Earth and Environmental Science; Environment; Environmental Health; Gene expression; Heat stress; Heat tolerance; Hydrostatic pressure; Knee; Meteorology; MicroRNAs; Mineral water; miRNA; Mud; Original Paper; Osteoarthritis; Pain; Patients; Plant Physiology; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; Statistical analysis; Therapy; Tubes
• ISSN: 0020-7128; 1432-1254
• DOI: 10.1007/s00484-017-1420-3

The aim of this study was to evaluate the whole-blood levels of miR-155, miR-223, miR-181a, miR-146a, and miR-let-7e in patients with bilateral knee osteoarthritis (OA) after a cycle of mud-bath therapy (MBT). Thirty-two patients with knee OA defined by the ACR criteria were included. Twenty-one patients (MBT group) were daily treated with a combination of local mud-packs at 42 °C and baths in mineral water, at 37 °C for 15 min, for 12 applications over a period of 2 weeks, in addition to standard therapy; 11 patients (control group) continued their conventional treatment alone. Global pain score evaluated by visual analog scale (VAS), WOMAC subscores, and microRNA expression were evaluated at baseline and after 2 weeks. Peripheral whole blood was collected into PAXgene™ Blood RNA tubes, stored at − 80 °C, and total RNA was extracted. The expression of miR-155, miR-223, miR-181a, miR-146a, and miR-let-7e was determined by qRT-PCR. After MBT, we observed a statistically significant improvement of clinical parameters and a significant decrease of miR-155, miR-181a, miR-146a ( p