Detection of Differentially Expressed MicroRNAs in Rheumatic Heart Disease: miR-1183 and miR-1299 as Potential Diagnostic Biomarkers

This study compared microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles between rheumatic heart disease (RHD) patients and healthy controls to investigate their differential expression and help elucidate their mechanisms of action. Microarray analysis was used to measure miRNA expression, and a total of 133 miRNAs were shown to be significantly upregulated in RHD patients compared with controls, including miR-1183 and miR-1299. A total of 137 miRNAs, including miR-4423-3p and miR-218-1-3p, were significantly downregulated in RHD patients. Quantitative real-time-PCR confirmed microarray findings for miR-1183 and miR-1299 in both tissue and plasma. Bioinformatic predictions were also made of differentially expressed miRNAs as biomarkers in RHD by databases and GO/pathway analysis. Furthermore, we investigated miR-1183 and miR-1299 expression in RHD patients with secondary pulmonary hypertension (PAH). Our findings identified an important role for miR-1299 as a direct regulator of RHD, while the observed difference in expression of miR-1183 between RHD-PAH patients with high or low pulmonary artery pressure suggests that miR-1183 overexpression may reflect pulmonary artery remodeling. miR-1183 and miR-1299 appear to play distinct roles in RHD pathogenesis accompanied by secondary PAH and could be used as potential biological markers for disease development.