A comparative study of circulating microRNA expression in blood in patients with coronary artery atherosclerosis and thoracic aortic aneurysm

Aim. To compare the relative expression levels of circulating microRNAs associated with cardiovascular diseases, selected according to the literature review, in the blood plasma samples of patients with two variants of chronic vascular wall injury: coronary artery atherosclerosis (CAA) and thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA).Material and methods. Patients admitted to the Clinical Center of the I. M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (University Clinical Hospital No. 1) with CAA (n=45), TAA (n=38), as well as a control group (n=17) were included. Standard clinical and demographic, laboratory and instrumental data were collected in accordance with Russian clinical guidelines, and additional sampling and preparation of blood plasma of patients was carried out with further quantitative determination of the circulating microRNAs level via real-time polymerase chain reaction with reverse transcription. A comprehensive comparative analysis of the profiles of circulating microRNAs in the blood plasma of patients with two different variants of arterial pathology: atherosclerosis and aneurysmal changes, as well as with the control group was carried out. The levels of 12 circulating microRNAs were studied: miR-21-5p, -23a-3p, -29b-3p, -92a-3p, -126-5p, -143-3p, -145-5p, -146a-5p, -150-5p, -181b-5p, 2-23-3p and -451a.Results. The strongest difference with the control group in patients with CAA and TAA was observed for miR-21-5p, -29b-3p and -126-3p. Most of the circulating microRNAs studied were higher in the TAA group compared with CAA and controls these include miR-21-5p, -23a-3p, -29b-3p, -92a-3p, -126-3p, -126-5p, -146a-5p, -150-5p, -181b-5p. Significant differences between the pathology groups were noted for miR-126-3p and miR-205-5p. Some microRNAs (­miR-143-3p, -92 a3, -195-5 p) can be used to diagnose coronary artery atherosclerosis, other microRNAs (miR-21-5p, -23a-3p, -126-3p, -126-5p, -451a) are TAA-specific.Conclusion. The present study showed significant differences in the circulating microRNAs in patients with atherosclerotic and aneurysmal lesions of the arteries in comparison with the control group. The most significant difference between norm and pathology was found for miR-21-5p, -29b-5p and -126-3p. The levels of miR-126-3p and -205-5p can be used to differentiate CAA and TAA.