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Updated: Oct 10, 2025
Digital PCR for Quantifying Circulating MicroRNAs in Acute Myocardial Infarction and Cardiovascular Disease
Published on: July 3, 2018
Up-Regulation of Cell-Free MicroRNA-1 and MicroRNA-221-3p Levels in Patients with Myocardial Infarction Undergoing
Fatemeh Mansouri1,2, Mir Hosein Seyed Mohammadzad3
1Department of Genetics and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran.
Abstract:
Myocardial infarction (MI), known as a multifactorial disease, remains the predominant cause of mortality and sudden deaths annually. The current study aimed to measure the expression of microRNA-1 and microRNA-221-3p in MI patients. In the current study, 100 healthy controls (with no history of heart disease) and 200 patients with MI were selected. Patients were divided into two groups based on angiography results: normal (no significant artery stenosis) and primary percutaneous coronary intervention (primary PCI, significant artery stenosis). The levels of microRNA-1 and microRNA-221-3p were quantified using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The correlation between levels of microRNAs and the common cardiac markers were analyzed statistically. In comparison to fold change, microRNA-1 elevations were 8.5-fold in normal patients and 60-fold in patients with primary PCI; while microRNA-221-3p levels were 210- fold higher in primary PCI and 31.31-fold higher in normal cases compared with the healthy controls. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) for circulating microRNA-1 and microRNA-221 were 0.903 and 0.958 in normal patients and 0.927 and 0.985 in primary PCI patients (p < 0.0001), respectively. Pearson correlation (ρ) analysis showed that circulation of microRNA-1 correlated with serum levels of cardiac troponin I (CTnI) (ρ =0.24), creatinine (ρ =0.34), creatinine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB) (ρ =0.31), and microRNA-221-3p was significantly correlated with serum levels of CTnI (ρ =0.6), creatinine (ρ =0.41), and CK-MB (ρ =0.37), (P < 0.0001). The study underscored the potential of microRNA-1 and microRNA-221-3p as informative biomarkers and positively correlated with artery stenosis in MI.
Insights
This study found that microRNA-1 and microRNA-221-3p levels are significantly elevated in myocardial infarction (MI) patients. These microRNAs show strong diagnostic potential and correlate with artery stenosis severity in MI.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Biology
- Molecular Diagnostics
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Myocardial infarction (MI) is a leading cause of global mortality.
- Identifying novel biomarkers for MI diagnosis and prognosis is crucial.
- MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are emerging as key regulators in cardiovascular disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the expression levels of microRNA-1 and microRNA-221-3p in patients with MI.
- To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of these miRNAs in MI.
- To assess the correlation between miRNA levels and indicators of artery stenosis and cardiac injury.
Main Methods:
- Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to measure miRNA levels.
- Patients were categorized into normal (no significant artery stenosis) and primary percutaneous coronary intervention (primary PCI, significant artery stenosis) groups.
- Statistical analyses, including Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) and Pearson correlation, were performed.
Main Results:
- Both microRNA-1 and microRNA-221-3p showed significantly higher expression in MI patients compared to healthy controls.
- ROC analysis indicated high diagnostic accuracy for both miRNAs (AUC > 0.903 for miR-1, AUC > 0.958 for miR-221-3p).
- Circulating levels of microRNA-1 and microRNA-221-3p positively correlated with cardiac markers (CTnI, CK-MB) and creatinine, and with the severity of artery stenosis.
Conclusions:
- MicroRNA-1 and microRNA-221-3p are promising circulating biomarkers for myocardial infarction.
- These miRNAs demonstrate significant diagnostic potential and correlate with disease severity.
- Further research can explore their role in risk stratification and therapeutic strategies for MI.
