HOTAIR Is a Potential Novel Biomarker in Patients with Congenital Heart Diseases.

Objective: To investigate the expression of HOX transcript antisense RNA (HOTAIR) in cardiac tissues and plasma of patients with congenital heart diseases (CHDs).

Methods: qRT-PCR was used to detect the expression of HOTAIR in right atrial appendage tissues of 16 patients with CHDs and 14 patients with rheumatic valvular heart diseases (RVHDs), as well as in plasma of 36 normal people and 90 patients with CHDs including 36 cases of ASD, 23 cases of VSD, and 31 cases of PDA. Besides, the proteins interacting with HOTAIR were obtained from databases.

Results: The HOTAIR expression in cardiac tissues of CHDs group was significantly higher than that of the RVHDs group ( P < 0.01). Compared with the control group, the expression of plasma HOTAIR in the ASD group, the VSD group, and the PDA group was all remarkably upregulated ( P < 0.01), whereas there was no relationship between HOTAIR and pulmonary arterial hypertension and defects size. Databases show that HOTAIR is associated with polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) which contributes to heart development.

Conclusion: The levels of HOTAIR were increased in cardiac tissues and plasma of patients with CHDs. HOTAIR is a potential novel diagnostic biomarker in patients with CHDs.