RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Sanz Rubio, David A1 López-Pérez, Óscar A1 de Andrés Pablo, Álvaro A1 Bolea, Rosa A1 Osta, Rosario A1 Badiola, Juan J A1 Zaragoza, Pilar A1 Martín-Burriel, Inmaculada A1 Toivonen, Janne MYR 2017 T1 Increased circulating microRNAs miR-342-3p and miR-21-5p in natural sheep prion disease JF Journal of General Virology, VO 98 IS 2 SP 305 OP 310 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/jgv.0.000685 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1465-2099, AB Scrapie is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), or prion disease, of sheep and goats. As no simple diagnostic tests are yet available to detect TSEs in vivo, easily accessible biomarkers could facilitate the eradication of scrapie agents from the food chain. To this end, we analysed by quantitative reverse transcription PCR a selected set of candidate microRNAs (miRNAs) from circulating blood plasma of naturally infected, classical scrapie sheep that demonstrated clear scrapie symptoms and pathology. Significant scrapie-associated increase was repeatedly found for miR-342-3p and miR-21-5p. This is the first demonstration, to our knowledge, of circulating miRNA alterations in any animal suffering from TSE. Genome-wide expression studies are warranted to investigate the true depth of miRNA alterations in naturally occurring TSEs, especially in presymptomatic animals, as the presented study demonstrates the potential feasibility of miRNAs as circulating TSE biomarkers., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/jgv.0.000685