RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) and their target genes in human alcoholic cardiomyopathy (ACM). METHODS: The expression levels of plasma miRNAs of 78 male ACM patients and 78 healthy men were detected by using the 6th-generation miRCURY™ LNA array (v.16.0). The prediction analysis for microarrays (PAM) method was used to identify the differentially expressed miRNAs. Target genes of the identified differentially expressed miRNAs were predicted using TargetScan 5.2 and Miranda. Gene ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) were used to perform functional annotation and pathway enrichment analysis of target genes respectively, followed by real-time RT-PCR analysis to validate the expression changes of miRNAs. RESULTS: Twenty-one differentially expressed miRNAs were identified. Nine differentially expressed miRNAs (hsa-miR-506, hsa-miR-1285, hsa-miR-512-3P, hsa-miR-138, hsa-miR-485-5P, hsa-miR-4262, hsa-miR-548c-3P, has-miR-548a-5P and kshv-miR-K12-1), involved in multiple functions and pathways, were selected for real-time RT-PCR confirmation. Moreover, two significantly important subpathways (neurotrophin signaling pathway and inositol phosphate metabolism) were predicted. CONCLUSION: The screened differentially expressed miRNAs may be involved in the development of ACM. Specific miRNAs, such as miR-138, may be considered as a new target for the early diagnosis and treatment of human ACM.