Non‑coding small molecule RNAs are associated with a variety of diseases, including infectious diseases. However, small RNA‑related studies in onychomycosis have not been reported. The aim of the present study was to conduct an initial investigation of small RNA in onychomycosis. The present study collected a total of 33 affected nail samples from patients with onychomycosis and 18 normal nail samples from healthy people. Through RNA sequencing, 37 differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs), including 15 upregulated and 22 downregulated miRNAs, were identified in 3 patients with onychomycosis compared with 3 healthy controls. Moreover, three differentially expressed miRNAs were analyzed for further verification by RT‑qPCR in other 30 affected nail and 15 healthy nail samples. Among the three verified miRNAs, a significant difference between the downregulated hsa‑miR‑1‑3p and hsa‑miR‑361‑3p was observed (P<0.05). A total of 14,511 target genes of 37 differentially expressed miRNAs were predicted by the miRanda and RNAhybrid databases, while the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and Gene Ontology analysis showed that these target genes were enriched in multiple signaling pathways. The present study indicated that hsa‑miR‑1‑3p and hsa‑miR‑361‑3p may be potential biomarkers for onychomycosis. Furthermore, the findings of the present study can be used in future research on RNA in onychomycosis.

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