Circulating MiR-146a May be a Potential Biomarker of Coronary Heart Disease in Patients with Subclinical Hypothyroidism

Abstract

Background/Aims: Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) plays a crucial role in the development and progression of coronary heart disease (CHD). However, any associated changes in the circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) levels and slightly elevated thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in CHD patients are unknown. miR-146a is a well known miRNA associated with inflammatory autoimmune diseases. Here, we evaluated miR-146a expression in patients, with the goal of re-evaluating the effect of SCH on CHD. Methods: A total of 192 study subjects who underwent coronary angiography for either suspected or confirmed CHD were enrolled in 3 groups: CHD with SCH, CHD alone, and healthy controls. The circulating levels of miR-146a were quantified using qRT-PCR. Results: Levels of miR-146a were positively correlated with CHD severity, as indicated by the Gensini score (r=0.354). The relative expression of miR-146a in the CHD+SCH, CHD and healthy control groups was 2.223±0.827, 1.588±0.726 and 0.632±0.309, respectively. Plasma TSH levels were positively correlated with miR-146a levels (r=0.321). According to multivariate logistic regression analyses, miR-146a levels were associated with the incidence of CHD in patients with SCH. For diagnosing CHD, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of miR-146a and TSH was 0.779 and 0.752, respectively. When the TSH and miR-146a levels were combined to form a composite panel, the AUC of the panel was 0.858. Conclusion: Plasma miR-146a levels correlated with the severity of coronary atherosclerosis and increased with TSH slightly elevated in patients with CHD. Thus, miR-146a may have good predictive value for CHD among individuals with elevated TSH levels.

Circulating MicroRNA-4739 May Be a Potential Biomarker of Critical Limb Ischemia in Patients with Diabetes

“…Studies suggest that circulating microRNA levels are associated with angiogenesis, endothelial function, and circulating proangiogenic cell functions in patients with CLI [ 17 – 20 ]. miRNAs are remarkably stable in the circulation and are useful as biomarkers or diagnostic tools for a number of diseases [ 21 , 22 ].…”

Effect of microRNA‑370 on coronary atherosclerosis and its underlying mechanism

“…MicroRNAs (miRs) are defined as noncoding RNA molecules involved in regulating and controlling the post-transcription expression of target mRNAs (5,6). They have complementary sequences in the 3′-untranslated region (UTR) and 5′-UTR of target mRNAs and regulate the expression of protein-coding genes by causing mRNA cleavage (1).…”

“…Previous studies have demonstrated that miRs can directly or indirectly regulate the expression of intercellular adhesion molecules and various inflammatory factors, including those involved in cell cycle progression, cell proliferation, lipid metabolism, endothelial cell function, angiogenesis, and plaque formation and rupture. These processes involve the regulation of vascular endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells and macrophage function; therefore, the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease are affected (3,5,6). As for miRs in coronary atherosclerosis or other cardiovascular diseases, a number of studies have published their outcomes.…”

MicroRNA Biomarkers for Infectious Diseases: From Basic Research to Biosensing

“…For example, miR-146a expression is known to fluctuate in response to hepatitis B virus (Wang et al, 2019), HCV (Abdel Motaleb et al, 2017), schistosomiasis (Cai et al, 2018), malaria (Cohen et al, 2018), JEV (Baluni et al, 2018), HeV (Stewart et al, 2013), and even prion disease (Bellingham et al, 2012). This miRNA has also been identified in non-infectious diseases, such as diabetes (Farr et al, 2015b) and heart disease (Quan et al, 2018). On its own, miR-146a has minimal disease specificity; indeed, it may be only indicative of a general immune response related to activation of the NF-κB transcription factor (Testa et al, 2017).…”