Circulating microRNA-21 as Stable Blood-Based Markers for Patients With ISR After PCI.

It recently has been reported that the in-stent restenosis (ISR) of expanded area after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) within six months can become a serious postoperative complication. A real-time quantitative PCR was used to analyze the expression of serum miR-21 in 33 ISR and 37 non-ISR patients after PCI. Expression of miR-21 was significantly higher in the ISR group compared with that in the NISR group, and a similar trend also occurred in factor- (TNF-α) level, Interleukin -6 (IL-6) level, and plaque area (PLA). However, a contrary trend occurred in the external elastic membrane area (EEM) and minimal lumen area (MLA). This study suggests that the increased expression of serum miR-21 is related to ISR after PCI, and miR-21 can be a new predictor of ISR.

Plasma miRNA-155 Levels Predict Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence after Cardioversion.

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are widely involved in the regulation of physiological processes, such as cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and lipid metabolism. They might be associated with the pathological process of atrial fibrillation (AF). The purpose of our study is to investigate whether plasma miRNA-155 levels have a relationship with AF recurrence. METHODS: A total of 110 patients with AF were studied, all with successful cardioversion. We measured the expression of plasma miRNA-155 in the recurrent group (n = 30) and in the nonrecurrent group (n = 80) by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). In addition, the serumal levels of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), total cholesterol (TC), and fasting blood glucose (FBG) in the groups were determined by using an automatic biochemical analyzer, and an immunoenzymatic method was applied to determine the serumal levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), C-reactive protein (CRP), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). The left atrial diameter (LAD) and left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) of all patients were measured by using echocardiography. RESULTS: Our RT-PCR analysis found that miRNA-155 was significantly upregulated in the recurrent group compared with the nonrecurrent group. These increases of LAD and the levels of BNP, TNF-α, CRP, and IL-6 in the recurrent group were also revealed to be relative to those in the nonrecurrent group. There were no differences in the levels of TC and FBG, as well as in EF, between the groups. Moreover, miRNA-155 expression was observed to correlate positively with these outcomes of LAD, BNP, TNF-α, CRP, IL-6, and LAD. A diagnostic significance of predicting AF recurrence for plasma miRNA-155 was elucidated via ROC curve analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings revealed that plasma miRNA-155 can present an ability to calculate AF recurrence after cardioversion.

Effect of miR-145 on intracardiac thrombosis in patients with rheumatic heart disease complicated with atrial fibrillation: A retrospective analysis.

Patients with rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and atrial fibrillation (AF) often have a risk of intracardiac thrombosis. Exfoliated thrombus is easy to cause embolic diseases. This study revealed the risk of intracardiac thrombosis in patients with RHD with AF by exploring the expression of plasma microRNA miR-145. The expression of plasma miR-145 in 58 patients with RHD complicated with AF was detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction [28 cases in thrombus (TH) group and 30 cases in non-thrombus (NTH) group]. At the same time, a healthy control group (33 cases) was established. The correlation between miR-145 and thrombosis in RHD was analyzed. The expression of plasma miR-145 in TH group and NTH group decreased significantly, especially in TH group (P < .01). In TH group and NTH group, the expression of miR-145 was negatively correlated with D-Dimer level, Factor XI concentration and tissue factor level as well as left atrial diameter (all P < .01, respectively). The receiver operating curve analysis showed that the expression of miR-145 had diagnostic significance for RHD and its intracardiac thrombosis. In this study, we suggest that the change of plasma miR-145 expression in patients with RHD is related to coagulation activity and fibrinolysis, which can predict the risk of intracardiac thrombosis.