Differential expression of microRNAs in aortic tissue and plasma in patients with acute aortic dissection

Biomarker-assisted diagnosis of acute aortic dissection (AAD) is important for diagnosis and treatment. However, identification of biomarkers for AAD in blood is a challenging task. The aim of this study is to search for new potentially microRNA (miRNAs) biomarkers in AAD.

The miRNAs expression profiles in ascending aortic tissue and plasma were examined by microarray analysis in two sets or groups. The tissue group was composed of four patients with AAD and four controls of healthy male organ donors. The plasma group included 20 patients with AAD and 20 controls without cardiovascular disease. Bioinformatics was used to analyze the potential targets of the differentially expressed miRNAs.

Our study revealed that in AAD patients, the aortic tissue had 30 differentially expressed miRNAs with 13 up-regulated and 17 down-regulated, and plasma had 93 differentially expressed miRNAs, of which 33 were up-regulated and 60 were down-regulated. Four miRNAs were found to be up-regulated in both aortic tissue and plasma in AAD patients. The predicted miRNA targets indicated the four dysregulated miRNAs mainly targeted genes that were associated with cell-cell adhesion, extracellular matrix metabolism, cytoskeleton organization, inflammation, and multiple signaling pathways related to cellular cycles.

Four miRNAs, which are up-regulated both in aortic tissue and in plasma in AAD patients, have been identified in this study. These miRNAs might be potential diagnostic biomarkers for AAD. Larger sample investigations are needed for further verification.