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Published on: July 20, 2022
Biological significance of miR-126 expression in atrial fibrillation and heart failure
1Intensive Care Unit, The People's Hospital of Laiwu City, Laiwu City, Shandong Province, China.
Insights
MicroRNA-126 (miR-126) is downregulated in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF), with lower levels indicating greater disease severity. This suggests miR-126 may be a biomarker for AF and HF progression.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Molecular Biology
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) are significant cardiovascular conditions.
- MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play crucial roles in cardiac pathophysiology.
- The specific role of microRNA-126 (miR-126) in AF and HF requires further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the biological significance of miR-126 expression in patients with AF and/or HF.
- To examine the potential mechanism of miR-126-dependent AF and HF development.
- To assess miR-126 as a potential biomarker for AF and HF severity.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure relative miR-126 expression in 103 patients across AF, HF, and combined HF-AF groups.
- Patient groups were compared to controls.
- Statistical analyses included t-tests, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression.
Main Results:
- miR-126 was frequently downregulated in AF and HF patient groups compared to controls.
- Lower miR-126 levels were observed in permanent/persistent AF versus paroxysmal AF, and in the HF-AF group versus AF and HF groups.
- miR-126 expression correlated positively with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and negatively with N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and cardiothoracic ratio.
Conclusions:
- Serum miR-126 levels are reduced in patients with AF and HF.
- miR-126 downregulation is associated with increased disease severity.
- miR-126 shows potential as a biomarker for evaluating AF and HF severity, warranting further investigation in larger cohorts.
Abstract:
We investigated the biological significance of microRNA-126 (miR-126) expression in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and/or heart failure (HF) to examine the possible mechanism of miR-126-dependent AF and development of HF. A total of 103 patients were divided into three groups: AF group (18 men and 17 women, mean age: 65.62±12.72 years), HF group (17 men and 15 women, mean age: 63.95±19.71 years), and HF-AF group (20 men and 16 women, mean age: 66.56±14.37 years). Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure relative miR-126 expression as calculated by the 2-ΔΔCt method. miR-126 was frequently downregulated in the 3 patient groups compared with controls. This reduction was significantly lower in permanent and persistent AF patients than in those with paroxysmal AF (P<0.05, t-test). Moreover, miR-126 expression was markedly lower in the HF-AF group compared with the AF and HF groups. The 3 patient groups had higher N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels, lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), larger left atrial diameter, and higher cardiothoracic ratio compared with controls. There were significant differences in NT-proBNP levels and LVEF among the AF, HF, and HF-AF groups. Pearson correlation analysis showed that relative miR-126 expression was positively associated with LVEF, logarithm of NT-proBNP, left atrial diameter, cardiothoracic ratio, and age in HF-AF patients. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that miR-126 expression was positively correlated with LVEF, but negatively correlated with the logarithm of NT-pro BNP and the cardiothoracic ratio (all P<0.05). Serum miR-126 levels could serve as a potential candidate biomarker for evaluating the severity of AF and HF. However, to confirm these results, future studies with a larger and diverse patient population are necessary.
