Circulating microRNAs as potential biomarkers for diagnosis of congenital heart defects.

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs of approximately 22 nucleotides in length, and play important regulatory roles in normal heart development and the pathogenesis of heart diseases. Recently, a few prospective studies have implicated the diagnostic role of microRNAs in congenital heart defects (CHD).

DATA RESOURCES: This review retrieved the research articles in PubMed focusing on the altered microRNAs in cardiac tissue or serum of patients with CHD versus healthy normal controls, as well as the studies exploring circulating microRNAs as potential biomarkers for (fetal) CHD.

RESULTS: Most of the studies of interest were conducted in recent years, implicating that the topic in this review is a newly emerging field and is drawing much attention. Moreover, a number of differentially expressed microRNAs between CHD specimens and normal controls have been reported.

CONCLUSION: Circulating microRNAs may serve as potential biomarkers for diagnosis of CHD in the future, with more efforts paving the road to the aim.