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Researchers further define role of miRNAs in atherosclerotic plaque development
Cipollone F. Stroke. 2011;doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.110.597575.
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Five microRNAs were expressed in patients with symptomatic atherosclerotic plaque but not in patients with asymptomatic atherosclerotic plaque, according to study results.
Researchers from two sites in Italy aimed to further investigate the expression profile of microRNAs (miRNAs) in atherosclerotic plaques and to correlate the expression of those miRNAs with clinical features of plaque destabilization. They evaluated two separate groups of plaques in 15 patients from Chieti Hospital and 38 patients from Ancona Hospital, both of which are in Italy. Eligible patients had undergone carotid endarterectomy.
There were 22 patients with symptomatic plaques and 31 patients with asymptomatic plaques, according to the presence or absence of stroke.
Patients at Chieti Hospital underwent large-scale analysis of miRNA expression. Patients with symptomatic plaques expressed five miRNAs — miRNA-100, miRNA-127, miRNA-145, miRNA-133a and miRNA-133b — differently than patients with asymptomatic plaques. This finding was confirmed when the analysis was repeated in the Ancona Hospital cohort.
In vitro analysis results indicated that endothelial cells transfected with miRNA-145 and miRNA-133a confirmed the role of these miRNAs in the modulation of stroke-related proteins, according to the results.
The researchers said these results are the first to report alterations in the expression of specific miRNAs in atherosclerotic plaques, and miRNAs may play a key role in causing instability and rupture via atherosclerotic plaque.
“Furthermore, by identifying the specific miRNA signature for stroke now, we are able to use computer algorithms to identify previously unrecognized molecular targets,” they wrote.
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