King's British Heart Foundation Centre, King' s College London, 125 Coldharbour Lane, London SE5 9NU, UK.
Cardiovasc Res. 2012 Mar 15;93(4):555-62. doi: 10.1093/cvr/cvr266. Epub 2011 Oct 25.
The recent discovery that microRNAs (miRNAs) are present in the circulation sparked interest in their use as potential biomarkers. In this review, we will summarize the latest findings on circulating miRNAs and cardiovascular disease but also discuss analytical challenges. While research on circulating miRNAs is still in its infancy, high analytical standards in statistics and study design are a prerequisite to obtain robust data and avoid repeating the mistakes of the early genetic association studies. Otherwise, studies tend to get published because of their novelty despite low numbers, poorly matched cases and controls and no multivariate adjustment for conventional risk factors. Research on circulating miRNAs can only progress by bringing more statistical rigour to bear in this field and by evaluating changes of individual miRNAs in the context of the overall miRNA network. Such miRNA signatures may have better diagnostic and prognostic value.
最近发现 microRNAs（miRNAs）存在于循环系统中，这激发了人们对其作为潜在生物标志物的兴趣。在这篇综述中，我们将总结循环 miRNAs 与心血管疾病相关的最新发现，同时也讨论分析方面的挑战。尽管循环 miRNAs 的研究仍处于起步阶段，但统计学和研究设计方面的高标准是获得稳健数据并避免重复早期遗传关联研究错误的前提。否则，尽管病例和对照组数量较少、匹配不佳，且未对传统危险因素进行多元调整，由于其新颖性，研究往往会发表。只有通过在该领域引入更多统计学严谨性，并根据整体 miRNA 网络评估个体 miRNA 的变化，循环 miRNAs 的研究才能取得进展。这种 miRNA 特征可能具有更好的诊断和预后价值。
