Circulating
microRNAs (
miRNAs) have already been proposed as sensitive and informative
biomarkers for the diagnosis of multiple diseases. We investigated the
miRNA expression patterns in plasma samples of patients with
coronary artery disease (CAD) and explored the potential functions of certain
miRNAs.Deep sequencing analysis was performed to determine the
miRNA expression profiles using
RNA samples isolated from 20 healthy subjects and 20 patients with CAD. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was applied to confirm the differential expression of the miR-17-92 cluster in 81 patients and 50 healthy volunteers. The association between the miR-17-92 cluster and clinical characteristics of patients with CAD were analyzed using SPSS16.0, SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL.Hundreds of
miRNAs were detected and most members from the miR-17-92 cluster and its paralogs, including miR-18a, miR-92a, miR-106b, and miR-17, exhibited differential expression in the plasma of patients with CAD compared with controls. Moreover, these
miRNAs were found widely related to the blood
lipids in the patients with CAD, as miR-17 was positively correlated with total
cholesterol,
low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and
apolipoprotein B, while miR-92a was found positively related to
high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) but negatively related to
lipoprotein-a. Additionally, miR-106b was positively related to HDL-C and
apolipoprotein A-I.Taken together with existing evidence from mechanistic studies, the current results of our study support a relationship between the miR-17-92 family and lipid metabolism, which merits further study.