Circulating microRNAs as novel biomarkers for dilated cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) potentially carry disease-specific information. In the current study, we aim to characterize the miRNA signature in plasma from dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) patients and assess the possible correlation between expression levels of circulating miRNAs and symptom severity in DCM patients.

METHODS: Using microarray-based miRNA expression profiling, we compared the miRNA expression levels in plasma samples from 4 DCM patients and 3 healthy controls. The expression levels of selected differentially expressed, upregulated miRNAs (miR-3135b, miR-3908 and miR-5571-5p) were validated independently in plasma samples from 19 DCM patients and 20 controls.

RESULTS: We observed that plasma miR-3135b (p < 0.001), miR-3908 (p < 0.001) and miR-5571-5p (p < 0.001) were significantly upregulated in DCM patients. The area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for the 3 miRNAs ranged from 0.83 to 1.00. Moreover, miR-5571-5p levels in plasma were significantly upregulated with severe New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: The circulating miRNAs (miR-3135b, miR-3908 and miR-5571-5p) have potential as diagnostic biomarkers for DCM. Additionally, miR-5571-5p correlated with NYHA classification.