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Updated: Mar 28, 2026
Digital PCR for Quantifying Circulating MicroRNAs in Acute Myocardial Infarction and Cardiovascular Disease
Published on: July 3, 2018
Identification of cardiac-related circulating microRNA profile in human chronic heart failure
Huaping Li1, Jiahui Fan1, Zhongwei Yin1
1Departments of Internal Medicine and The Institute of Hypertension Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, People's Rep. of China.
Background:
During chronic heart failure, levels of circulating miRNAs endued with characteristics of diseased cells could be identified as biomarkers. In this study, we sought to identify cardiac-related circulating miRNAs as biomarkers of failing heart.
Methods:
Total RNA of plasma and heart samples was extracted from 10 normal controls and 14 patients with chronic heart failure. Microarray was applied for miRNA profiles. Validation and organ/tissue distribution analysis was performed by qRT-PCR. In addition, bioinformatics analysis was performed to understand the critical roles of these cardiac-related circulating miRNAs in heart failure.
Results:
Results showed that levels of more than half of the miRNAs dysregulated in heart failed to show any differences in plasma. Meanwhile, more than 90% of the miRNAs dysregulated in plasma remained stable in heart. Four cardiac fibroblast-derived miRNAs (miR-660-3p, miR-665, miR-1285-3p and miR-4491) were found significantly upregulated in heart and plasma during heart failure. These 4 miRNAs strongly discriminated patients from controls, and 3 of them showed significant correlations with LVEF.
Conclusions:
This study provides global profiles of miRNAs changes in plasma and failing heart, and using a circulation-tissue miRNA profiling comparison model, we successfully identify 3 cardiac-related circulating miRNAs as potential biomarkers for diagnosis of heart failure.
