Jornal Internacional de Pesquisa Cardiovascular

Modulation of miRNAs in Aneurysms of the Ascending Aorta: Local versus Circulating Expression Levels

Manfred Richter, Ali El-Sayed Ahmed, Spiros Marinos, Andreas Zierer, Anton Moritz, Andres Beiras-Fernandez and Isabella Werner

Modulation of miRNAs in Aneurysms of the Ascending Aorta: Local versus Circulating Expression Levels

Objective: The identification and treatment of ascending aortic aneurysms (AAA) is still challenging, as the detailed mechanisms leading to AAA formation, progression and rupture, are insufficiently understood. Different miRNAs are known to play important roles in vascular degeneration and the formation of aneurysms in Marfan patients. Thus we investigated the expression profile of miRNAs in patients with AcsAA.

Methods: Ascending aortic tissue samples of patients with aneurysms undergoing aortic surgery were compared with ascending aortic tissue samples of patients without dilatation. We analyzed the expression of different miRNAs by RT-PCR in tissue and serum samples of the same patients´ collective.

Results: We observed a significant down-regulation in tissue expression of miRNA-21, miRNA-151, miRNA-152, miRNA-155 and miRNA-182 in the AAA group compared to controls. MiRNA-152 was also significantly reduced in the serum of patients with aneurysm of the ascending aorta.

Conclusions: The significant down-regulation of miRNA-21, -151, -152 and -155 in the AAA group compared to the control offers new therapeutic starting points to limit aneurysm progression by preventing its expansion and reducing the atherosclerotic damage, respectively. By analyzing and comparing tissue expression with the serum-levels we might find biomarkers with prognostic value in high-risk patients.