A meta-analysis of dysregulated miRNAs in coronary heart disease

To combine the results of dysregulated miRNAs in individual coronary heart disease (CHD) studies and to identify potential miRNA biomarkers.

MiRNA profiling studies of CHD were extracted from Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science and China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI) databases if they met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis was conducted using a random effects model to identify the effect of each multiple-reported miRNA. We also performed subgroup analysis according to miRNA detecting methods, tissues and subtypes of CHD. Sensitivity analysis was performed on the sample size. Bioinformatic analysis was performed to identify the potential biomatic functions. All results were represented as log10 odds ratios (logORs).

A total of 239 miRNAs were reported to be dysregulated in all 25 studies analyzed herein, and meta-analysis identified 48 statistically significant miRNAs. Bioinformatic analysis showed they were closely related with CHD. The most reported up-regulated miRNA was miR-122-5p (logOR: 2.7924, P < 0.001). A total of 7, 6, 4 and 9 miRNAs were detected to be differentially expressed in myocardial infarction (MI), unstable angia (UA), stable angina (SA) and pre-CHD subjects, respectively. 32 miRNAs were dysregulated in blood sample. The dysregulation of miR-133a-3p in whole blood and plasma/serum was contrary. In sensitivity analysis, 37 out of 48 (77.08%) miRNAs were consistently dysregulated.

A total of 48 dysregulated miRNAs were confirmed in this meta-analysis. MiR-122-5p and miR-133a-3p may be valuable biomarkers for CHD.