MicroRNA's Expression and Their Molecular Targets in Food Allergies: A Systematic Review

Tekan Singh Rana¹Rishipal Rastrapal Bansode¹Jenny Pakhrin Rana²Leonard L Williams^1*

• ¹Center for Excellence in Post Harvest Technologies, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Kannapolis, North Carolina, United States
• ²Department of Biology, College of Science and Technology, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, North Carolina, United States

MicroRNAs (miR) play an essential role in adaptive and innate immune systems by regulating the development of immune cells. However, detailed studies of miR's role in food allergies are scarce compared to other allergic or non-allergic diseases. This systematic review aims to study miR's expression and role in food allergies (FA) and determine the signature miRs in FA. Research articles published since 2015 were selected from various databases: Scopus, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science. The randomized clinical trial, observational clinical studies, and in vivo studies were assessed via Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool, the Newcastle-Ottawa scale, and SYRCLE, respectively. The characteristics of the included studies, population characteristics, and experimental details were extracted, and the data was synthesized narratively. The MiR expression studies in cow milk allergy (CMA) and peanut allergy (PA) were done both in in vivo and clinical trials. Clinical trials included multiple combined foods, individual foods such as milk, peanut, wheat, and drugs and venom allergies, while in vivo studies were done in milk, egg, and peanut allergies. The miR-146a, miR-155, and miR-30a-5p were common miRs between in vivo studies and clinical trials. Moreover, few miRs were commonly studied between different types of food allergies. In clinical trials, the miR-143-3p was studied in peanut allergy and non-celiac wheat sensitivity (NCWS), and the miR-155 was studied in CMA and egg allergy in in vivo studies. Furthermore, the same miR had varied on their molecular target and effect on depending on type of food allergy. In conclusion, the study on signature miRs and their molecular targets determination for therapeutic purpose of food allergy is in its initial stage. For individual food allergy, miR determination via next-generation sequencing (NGS), their validation with polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and target molecule determination via RNA interference (RNAi) should be the focus of future studies in order to determine reliable signature miRs of food allergy.