Differences in miRNAs between the groups
The results obtained under conditions of FDR-BH values less than 0.1 and |fold change| greater than 1.2 are shown in Table 2. In PBMCs of the PSORI-CM01 and healthy control groups, 17 differentially expressed miRNAs were found before treatment, including 5 miRNAs with upregulated expression and 12 with downregulated expression. Additionally, 16 differentially expressed miRNAs were found after treatment, including 5 miRNAs with upregulated expression and 11 with downregulated expression. However, in PBMCs of the Yin Xie Ling and healthy control groups, 20 differentially expressed miRNAs were found before treatment, including 6 miRNAs with upregulated expression and 14 with downregulated expression, whereas 20 differentially expressed miRNAs were found after treatment, including 4 miRNAs with upregulated expression and 16 with downregulated expression.
Unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis of differentially expressed miRNAs between the groups
The results of the unsupervised hierarchical clustering of differentially expressed miRNAs identified in each group are shown in the form of a heat map in Fig. 1. The expression of has-mir6877-3p and has-mir-3184-3p in PBMCs was higher in the PSORI-CM01 group than in the healthy control group before treatment (Fig. 1A); however, after the treatment, the expression of only has-mir-6877-3p was higher in the PSORI-CM01 group (Fig. 1B).
Furthermore, the expression of has-mir-3184-3p, has-mir-6877-3p, and has-mir-5681b in PBMCs was higher in the Yin Xie Ling group than in the healthy control group before treatment (Fig. 1C). In contrast, after the treatment, the expression of has-mir-6877-3p, has-mir-3149, and has-mir-5187-5p was higher in the Yin Xie Ling group than in the healthy control group (Fig. 1D).
Wayne analysis of differentially expressed miRNAs
The Wayne analysis revealed that among the differentially expressed miRNAs between the PSORI-CM01 and healthy control groups, hsa-miR-487a-3p, hsa-miR-4793-3p, hsa-miR-20a-3p, and hsa-miR-3184-3p expression after treatment did not significantly differ from that before treatment. Conversely, there were significant differences in the expression of the following 13 miRNAs, both before and after treatment, between the PSORI-CM01 and healthy control groups: hsa-miR-3130-3p, hsa-miR-3176, hsa-miR-3193, hsa-miR-770-5p, hsa-miR-6776-5p, hsa-miR-6814-5p, hsa-miR-6795-5p, hsa-miR-4750-5p, hsa-miR-4294, hsa-miR-23a-5p, hsa-miR-378f, hsa-miR-374c-5p, and hsa-miR-6877-3p (Fig. 2A).
The analysis also revealed that among the differentially expressed miRNAs between the Yin Xie Ling and healthy control groups, hsa-miR-3184-3p, hsa-miR-3653-3p, hsa-miR-20a-3p, hsa-miR-5681b, and hsa-miR-26a-5p expression after treatment did not significantly differ from that before treatment. In contrast, there were significant differences in the expression of the following 15 miRNAs, both before and after treatment, between the Yin Xie Ling and healthy control groups: hsa-miR-4304, hsa-miR-487a-3p, hsa-miR-3130-3p, hsa-miR-3176, hsa-miR-3193, hsa-miR-770-5p, hsa-miR-6776-5p, hsa-miR-6814-5p, hsa-miR-6795-5p, hsa-miR-4750-5p, hsa-miR-4294, hsa-miR-23a-5p, hsa-miR-378f, hsa-miR-374c-5p, and hsa-miR-6877-3p (Fig. 2B).
Furthermore, hsa-miR-20a-3p and hsa-miR-3184-3p were differentially expressed before treatment and were common between the Yin Xie Ling and PSORI-CM01 groups; however, the expression of these miRNAs in these groups was not significantly different after treatment compared with that in the healthy control group (Fig. 2C). Additionally, the following miRNAs were differentially expressed both before and after treatment in the Yin Xie Ling and PSORI-CM01 groups: hsa-miR-3130-3p, hsa-miR-3176, hsa-miR-3193, hsa-miR-770-5p, hsa-miR-6776-5p, hsa-miR-6814-5p, hsa-miR-6795-5p, hsa-miR-4750-5p, hsa-miR-4294, hsa-miR-23a-5p, hsa-miR-378f, hsa-miR-374c-5p, and hsa-miR-6877-3p (Fig. 2D).
3.5. Pathway enrichment analysis for differentially expressed miRNAs
Figure 3A shows results of the pathway enrichment analysis for hsa-miR-487a-3p, hsa-miR-4793-3p, hsa-miR-20a-3p, and hsa-miR-3184-3p, which were differentially expressed between the PSORI-CM01 and healthy control groups before treatment but were not significantly expressed after treatment. Notably, hsa-miR-20a-3p, which participates in the adherens junction, thyroid hormone signalling, and proteoglycans in cancer pathways, was found to be the main miRNA affected by PSORI-CM01.
Figure 3B shows that hsa-miR-3184-3p, hsa-miR-3653-3p, hsa-miR-20a-3p, hsa-miR-5681b, and hsa-miR-26a-5p were differentially expressed between the Yin Xie Ling and healthy control groups before treatment; however, their expression after treatment was not significantly different in these groups. Notably, hsa-miR-20a-3p and hsa-miR-26a-5p, which are involved in the endoplasmic reticulum protein processing, Hippo signalling, adherens junction, thyroid hormone signalling, cell cycle, proteoglycans in cancer, p53 signalling, and oocyte meiosis pathways, were the main miRNAs affected by Yin Xie Ling. Additionally, hsa-miR-26a-5p is involved in the unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis pathway.