Whole blood sequencing reveals circulating microRNA associations with high-risk traits in non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome

Alice Wang, Lydia Coulter Kwee, Elizabeth Grass, Megan L Neely, Simon G Gregory, Keith A A Fox, Paul W Armstrong, Harvey D White, E Magnus Ohman, Matthew T Roe, Svati H Shah, Mark Y Chan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Although circulating microRNA (miRNAs) have emerged as biomarkers predicting mortality in acute coronary syndrome (ACS), more data are needed to understand these mechanisms. Mapping miRNAs to high-risk traits may identify miRNAs involved in pathways conferring risk for poor outcome in ACS. We aim to investigate the relationship between circulating miRNAs and high-risk traits in non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS).

METHODS: Whole-genome miRNA sequencing was performed on RNA extracted from whole blood of 199 patients with NSTE-ACS. Generalized linear models were used to test associations of miRNAs and 13 high-risk clinical traits, including the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score, a widely validated risk score for mortality in NSTE-ACS.

RESULTS: There were 205 nominally significant miRNA-risk factor associations (p < 0.05) observed. Significant associations occurred most frequently with chronic heart failure (HF) (43 miRs), GRACE risk score (30 miRs), and renal function (32 miRs). In hierarchical cluster analysis, chronic HF and GRACE risk score clustered most tightly together, sharing 14 miRNAs with matching fold-change direction. Controlling for a false discovery rate of 5%, chronic HF was significantly associated with lower circulating levels of miR-3135b (p < 0.0006), miR-126-5p (p < 0.0001), miR-142-5p (p = 0.0004) and miR-144-5p (p = 0.0007), while increasing GRACE risk score inversely correlated with levels of miR-3135b (p < 0.0001) and positively correlated with levels of miR-28-3p (p = 0.0002).

CONCLUSIONS: Circulating miRs clustered around two powerful traits for mortality risk in NSTE-ACS. MiR-3135b, which was under-expressed in chronic HF and increasing GRACE risk score, and miR-28-3p, which has no known association with cardiovascular disease, warrant further investigation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)19-25
Number of pages7
JournalAtherosclerosis
Volume261
Early online date30 Mar 2017
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 30 Mar 2017

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Journal Article

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Whole blood sequencing reveals circulating microRNA associations with high-risk traits in non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this