Profiles of exRNA in CSF and Plasma from Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Patients

Brain injury resulting from hemorrhagic stroke is clinically challenging to manage and results in high rates of morbidity and mortality. The pathophysiology of brain damage resulting from aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is largely unknown, and methods to treat and monitor patients are variable with no meaningful correlations to patient outcome. Prediction of patient risk for serious neurological complications is currently a significant clinical obstacle. An extracellular RNA (exRNA) biomarker to predict onset and severity of brain damage would improve patient outcomes. We sequenced plasma and CSF samples from adult patients with SAH. Samples were collected from post bleed day 1 to day 7. Total exRNA was isolated from each sample. In addition, we prepared a subset of 140 CSF samples, isolating the RNA contained within extracellular vesicles and vesicle-depleted biofluid.