Circulating microrna expression profiles in patients with stable and unstable angina

OBJECTIVES: High incidence and case fatality of unstable angina (UA) is, to a large extent, a consequence of the lack of highly sensitive and specific non-invasive markers. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have been widely recommended as potential biomarkers for numerous diseases. In the present study, we characterized distinctive miRNA expression profiles in patients with stable angina (SA), UA, and normal coronary arteries (NCA), and identified promising candidates for UA diagnosis. METHODS: Serum was collected from patients with SA, UA, and NCA who visited the Department of Cardiovascular Diseases of the Meizhou People's Hospital. Small RNA sequencing was carried out on an Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform. miRNA expression in different groups of patients was profiled and then confirmed based on that in an independent set of patients. Functions of differentially expressed miRNAs were predicted using gene ontology classification and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis. RESULTS: Our results indicated that circulating miRNA expression profiles differed between SA, UA, and NCA patients. A total of 36 and 161 miRNAs were dysregulated in SA and UA patients, respectively. miRNA expression was validated by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that circulating miRNAs are potential biomarkers of UA.

Circulating exosomal micrornas as biomarkers of systemic lupus erythematosus

OBJECTIVES: Many studies indicate that microRNAs (miRNAs) could be potential biomarkers for various diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical value of serum exosomal miRNAs in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: Serum exosomes were isolated from 38 patients with SLE and 18 healthy controls (HCs). The expression of miR-21, miR-146a and miR-155 within exosomes was examined by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, we evaluated the diagnostic value of exosomal miRNAs. RESULTS: Exosomal miR-21 and miR-155 were upregulated (p<0.01), whereas miR-146a expression (p<0.05) was downregulated in patients with SLE, compared to that in HCs. The expression of miR-21 (p<0.01) and miR-155 (p<0.05) was higher in SLE patients with lupus nephritis (LN) than in those without LN (non-LN). The analysis of ROC curves revealed that the expression of miR-21 and miR-155 showed a potential diagnostic value for LN. Furthermore, miR-21 (R=0.44, p<0.05) and miR-155 (R=0.33, p<0.05) were positively correlated with proteinuria. The expression of miR-21 was negatively associated with anti-SSA/Ro antibodies (R=−0.38, p<0.05), and that of miR-146a was negatively associated with anti-dsDNA antibodies (R=−0.39, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggested that exosomal miR-21 and miR-155 expression levels may serve as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of SLE and LN.