Wu H, et al. - The link between miR-126 and risk and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) was assessed herein. Its correlation with inflammatory cytokines and endothelial related proteins was also studied. In CAD patients, researchers observed that risk and severity was predicted by peripheral blood mononuclear cell miR-126, which also correlated with inflammatory cytokines as well as intercellular adhesion molecule-1.

Methods

• Researchers divided a total of 215 patients suspected of CAD who underwent coronary angiography, into a CAD group (n = 119) and control group (n = 96).
• Using real-time polymerase chain reaction, they assessed miR-126 relative expression.

Results

• In CAD patients vs controls (p < 0.001), decreased relative expression of miR-126 was reported, and the receiver operating characteristic curve demonstrated a good diagnostic value of miR-126 for CAD risk with an area under the curve of 0.801 (95% CI 0.740-0.861).
• Findings demonstrated a negative correlation of miR-126 with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels (p < 0.001), its reverse association with TNF-α (p = 0.008) and IL-6 (p < 0.001) levels, while its positive correlation with the IL-10 level (p < 0.001).
• Additionally, a negative association of miR-126 with intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) levels (p=0.001), and no association with vascular endothelial growth factor was detected (p=0.142).
• Meanwhile, it was shown that the miR-126 relative level was negatively related to the Gensini score (p < 0.001).