Wide-ranging analysis of microRNA profiles in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using next-generation sequencing

miRNAs has an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. we aimed to profile dysregulation of miRNAs in ALS blood and neuromuscular junction as well as healthy blood control by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). The expression of three up-regulated miRNAs, as miR-338-3p, miR-223-3p and miR-326, in the ALS samples compared to healthy controls, has been validated by qRT-PCR in a cohort of 45 samples collected previously. Bioinformatics tools were used to perform ALS microRNAs target analysis and to predict novel miRNAs secondary structure. The analysis of the NGS data identified 696 and 44 novel miRNAs which were differentially expressed in ALS tissues.