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Updated: Jun 11, 2025
Digital PCR for Quantifying Circulating MicroRNAs in Acute Myocardial Infarction and Cardiovascular Disease
Published on: July 3, 2018
Circulating miR-133a-3p and miR-451a as potential biomarkers for diagnosis of coronary artery disease
Rathinavel Andiappan1, Ramajayam Govindan2, Thirunavukkarasu Ramasamy3
1Department of Cardio Vascular Thoracic Surgery, Madurai Medical College & Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Insights
Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) like miR-133a-3p and miR-451a show promise as novel biomarkers for early coronary artery disease (CAD) detection. Their elevated levels in CAD patients suggest potential for improved diagnosis and management.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Research
- Molecular Biology
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a leading global cause of mortality.
- Current diagnostic and treatment strategies for cardiovascular diseases require novel biomarkers for early detection and management.
- There is a clinical need to identify new indicators for CAD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) in patients with CAD.
- To identify potential miRNA biomarkers for the early detection of CAD.
- To explore miRNAs for the therapeutic management of CAD.
Main Methods:
- Assessed expression of five candidate miRNAs (miR-21-5p, miR-133a-3p, miR-221-3p, miR-451a, miR-584-5p) in plasma samples.
- Utilized quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) for miRNA analysis.
- Compared miRNA expression in 50 CAD patients against 50 healthy controls.
Main Results:
- Significantly elevated expression of miR-133a-3p (FC: 28.05), miR-451a (FC: 27.47), miR-584-5p (FC: 7.89), miR-21-5p (FC: 5.35), and miR-221-3p (FC: 5.03) in CAD patients versus controls (all p < 0.0001).
- Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis identified miR-133a-3p and miR-451a as potent biomarkers for CAD detection.
- All five investigated miRNAs were found to be significantly upregulated in CAD patients.
Conclusions:
- The studied miRNAs (miR-21-5p, miR-133a-3p, miR-221-3p, miR-451a, miR-584-5p) may serve as independent biomarkers for coronary artery disease.
- A combination of miR-133a-3p and miR-451a could potentially be used as a specific diagnostic signature for CAD.
- Further research is warranted to validate these findings for clinical application.
Background:
Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains the leading cause of mortality and morbidity around the world. Despite significant progress in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, still there is a clinical need to identify novel biomarkers for early diagnosis and treatment of CAD. The aim of the study is to investigate circulating miRNAs in CAD patients to identify potential biomarkers for early detection and therapeutic management of CAD.
Methods:
We assessed the expression of different candidate miRNAs (miR-21-5p, miR-133a-3p, miR-221-3p, miR-451a and miR-584-5p) in plasma from 50 CAD patients and 50 controls by qRT-PCR analysis.
Results:
The expression levels of miR-133a-3p (fold change (FC): 28.05, p < 0.0001), miR-451a (FC: 27.47, p < 0.0001), miR-584-5p (FC: 7.89, p < 0.0001), miR-21-5p (FC: 5.35, p < 0.0001) and miR-221-3p (FC: 5.03, p < 0.0001) were significantly up-regulated in CAD patients compared to controls. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that miR-133a-3p and miR-451a were powerful biomarkers for detecting CAD.
Conclusions:
Our results suggested that miR-21-5p, miR-133a-3p, miR-221-3p, miR-451a and miR-584-5p may serve as independent biomarkers for CAD. Further, the combination of miR-133a-3p and miR-451a could be used as a specific signature in CAD diagnosis.
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