The association of plasma miR-155 and VCAM-1 levels with coronary collateral circulation

Association of fibrinogen/albumin ratio and coronary collateral circulation in stable coronary artery disease patients

Aim: To investigate whether fibrinogen/albumin ratio (FAR) has an association with the coronary collateral circulation (CCC) in patients with stable coronary artery disease. Materials & methods: A total of 391 patients with stable coronary artery disease who underwent coronary angiography were included. The patients were divided into two groups according to the Rentrop score. Results: The poorly developed CCC group had a significantly higher FAR level compared with the well-developed CCC group (p < 0.001). In the multivariate analysis, the FAR (odds ratio: 1.700; 95% CI: 1.420-2.036; p < 0.001) was an independent predictor of poorly developed CCC. Conclusion: FAR can be used as one of the independent predictors of CCC formation.

Expression of serum microRNA-155 and its clinical importance in patients with heart failure after myocardial infarction

Objective

This study was conducted to investigate the level of microRNA-155 (miRNA-155) in patients with heart failure (HF) after myocardial infarction (MI) and its clinical importance.

Methods

Serum miRNA-155 levels were measured using quantitative reverse transcription (qRT)-PCR. The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular posterior wall thickness, and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter were measured by echocardiography. Serum amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and other parameters were also analyzed.

Results

miRNA-155 levels in patients with HF were significantly higher than in control and MI groups. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of serum miRNA-155 in the diagnosis of HF after MI was 0.941, the cutoff value was 1.77, sensitivity was 92.73%, and specificity was 92.14%. NT-proBNP levels were significantly higher and LVEF was lower in patients with high versus low miRNA-155 expression.

Conclusions

Patients with HF after MI had elevated miRNA-155 levels and poor cardiac function, suggesting that determining miRNA-155 expression could be used to assess the severity of the disease.

The relationship of plasma miR-503 and coronary collateral circulation in patients with coronary artery disease

OBJECTIVE

Although angiogenesis plays an important role in coronary collateral circulation (CCC) formation and there are many determinants of coronary angiogenesis, they cannot fully explain the mechanism of CCC formation or as potent biomarker for CCC status. Therefore, there is of great clinical significance to identify the novel molecules associated with CCC. Previously, miR-503 exerts anti-angiogenesis effect via inhibition of VEGF-A and its expression is associated with many angiogenesis-related factors. Thus, we aimed to investigate the relationship of plasma miR-503 with CCC formation as well as its predictive power for CCC status in patients with coronary artery disease.

METHODS

Among patients who underwent coronary angiography with coronary artery disease and a stenosis of ≥90% were included in our study. Collateral degree was graded according to Rentrop Cohen classification. The patients were divided to good CCC group (grade 2 or 3) and poor CCC group (grade 0 or 1) according to Rentrop grade. We investigated the plasma levels of miR-503 and VEGF-A by ELISA or q RT-PCR, respectively. In addition, we assayed the correlations of plasma miR-503 with VEGF-A or Rentrop grade using the spearman correlation test and its predictive power by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and binary logistical regression analysis.

RESULTS

Our data showed that plasma VEGF-A was significantly higher in good CCC group than that in poor group. Plasma miR-503 was lower in CAD patients with good CCC or poor CCC compared with control subjects and lowest in good CCC group. In addition, miR-503 negatively correlated with VEGF-A and Rentrop grade, respectively. Moreover, miR-503 displayed more potent predictive power for CCC status than VEGF-A, but its sensitivity and specificity for CCC status were only 72.4 or 60.9%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Lower plasma miR-503 level was related to better CCC formation, accompanied by up-regulation of VEGF-A. In addition, miR-503 displayed potent predictive power for CCC status, but its sensitivity and specificity were not high enough, indicating that miR-503 might be as an additional prognosis biomarker for CCC.

SLC35E3 identified as a target of novel‑m1061‑5p via microRNA profiling of patients with cardiovascular disease

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are considered to be potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of various cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). To understand the underlying mechanism of miRNAs and target genes associated with CVD, deep sequencing of blood samples from three patients with CVD and three controls was performed using the Illumina HiSeq 2000 system. The results of the present study revealed that 65 abnormal hsa‑miRNAs targeted 2,784 putative genes in patients with CVD; 59 upregulated miRNAs targeted 2,401 genes and six downregulated miRNAs targeted 383 genes. In addition, a total of 49 Gene Ontology (GO) biological processes and were enriched, and the target genes of downregulated miRNAs were enriched in 12 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. Most of these pathways are responsible for lipid and glycan metabolism. In particular, three downregulated miRNAs, hsa‑miR‑1268b, hsa‑miR‑1273d, hsa‑miR‑3187‑5p, were involved in a‑linolenic acid metabolism. The target genes of upregulated miRNAs were enriched in 15 KEGG pathways, mainly in the 'neurodegenerative diseases and cancers' class. In the present study five novel upregulated miRNAs, including m0499‑5p, m0970‑5p, m1042‑5p, m1061‑5p and m1953‑5p, and a downregulated miRNA, novel‑m1627‑5p, were identified in patients with CVD. Novel‑m1627‑5p was demonstrated to target 146 human genes. Additionally, Novel‑m1061‑5p targeted four genes, including fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase domain containing 2A, potassium voltage‑gated channel, Shaw‑related subfamily, member 4, coiled‑coil domain containing 85C and solute carrier family 35 member E3 (SLC35E3). The GO term, 'carbohydrate derivative transport involving in biological process', was associated with SLC35E3. Novel‑m1061‑5p in patients with CVD may repress the expression levels of SLC35E3, a member of the nucleoside sugar transporter subfamily E, which is known to cause defective glycol‑conjugation in the Golgi complex and/or the endoplasmic reticulum. Further investigation is required to understand the underlying mechanisms of the novel miRNAs. Novel‑m1061‑5p may serve as a marker for prognosis or a potential target for the treatment of CVD.