RESUMO
BACKGROUND: For evaluating the severity of coronary heart disease (CHD), coronary arteriography may not be available everywhere due to technical limitations. MicroRNA-101a (miR-101a) associated with inflammation and cholesterol homeostasis. However, whether it related to presence and stratification of CHD is still unknown. AIM: We aim to evaluate the value of miR-101a in stratifying CHD patients. METHODS: We enrolled 200 CHD patients and 100 controls, and 200 CHD patients were divided into two groups of low and high SYNTAX score (SYNTAX score ≤ 22 versus SYNTAX score ≥ 33). Intergroup comparisons of miR-101a level were compared among the controls and two groups of low and high SYNTAX score. Correlation between miR-101a and blood lipid profiles was analyzed. The logistic regression analysis were conducted to evaluate the risk factors of CHD. RESULTS: Relative level of miR-101a in the controls, SYNTAX score ≤ 22 and SYNTAX score ≥ 33 group were 4.61 (1.24-8.91), 3.28 (0.58-6.75) and 2.29 (1.04-3.62), respectively (p < 0.001). All lipid profiles significantly associated with miR-101a expression (all p < 0.001). The odds ratio (OR) of miR-101a in univariate analysis was 0.41 (95% CI, 0.33-0.52). After adjusting for the traditional risk factors, such as blood profiles and history of smoking, the odds ratio of miR-101a was 0.63 (95% CI, 0.47-0.43), which closely associated with CHD (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Circulating miR-101a may be considered as a novel biomarker for evaluating the presence and severity of CHD.