MicroRNA profile of circulating CD4+ T cells in aged patients with atherosclerosis obliterans

Abstract Background To evaluate the specificity of the expression patterns of microRNAs (miRNAs) in circulating CD4+ T cells in aged patients with atherosclerosis obliterans (ASO). Methods A comprehensive miRNA expression study was conducted using a miRNA microarray of CD4+ T cells isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of 33 patients with ASO and 24 healthy donors. A t test was used for statistical analysis, and the average linkage method was used for hierarchical clustering. The results were validated by qRT–PCR. Putative targeted pathways associated with validated miRNAs were predicted with the online software DIANA miRPath. Results We identified 44 miRNAs based on a cutoff value of a 1.3-fold change in expression between the two groups, with 18 miRNAs showing a false discovery rate (FDR) p value