[The value of circulating microRNA-1 in the early diagnosis of coronary atherosclerotic plaque rupture in patients with stable coronary heart disease].

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the diagnostic value of circulating microRNA-1 (miR-1) in early coronary artery plaque rupture in patients with stable coronary artery disease (SCAD).

METHODS

A prospective cohort study was conducted. Sixty-seven patients with SCAD admitted to the department of cardiology of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from January to June in 2019 were enrolled. All patients had completed coronary angiography (CAG), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) single stent implantation or only CAG was performed according to the CAG results. Blood samples were collected before (0 hour) and 3 hours after the procedure. The expression of plasma miR-1 was detected by real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and electrocardiogram was used to detect cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels. The difference of miR-1 and cTnI levels in PCI or CAG patients before and after procedure were compared, and the value for early diagnosis of coronary artery plaque rupture in SCAD patients was evaluated. The diagnostic efficacy was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve).

RESULTS

There were 38 CAG patients and 29 PCI patients. There were no significant differences in gender, age, previous history (without hypertension history) and baseline data of cardiac function between the two groups. The expression of miR-1 after PCI was significantly higher than that before PCI [2: 2.11 (1.56, 2.73) vs. 1.26 (1.07, 1.92), P < 0.01], and there was no significant difference in cTnI level before and after PCI [μg/L: 0.00 (0.00, 0.02) vs. 0.00 (0.00, 0.02), P > 0.05]. There were no significant differences in miR-1 and cTnI levels before and after procedure in the CAG group [miR-1 (2): 1.09 (1.00, 1.40) vs. 1.21 (1.00, 1.71), cTnI (μg/L): 0.00 (0.00, 0.02) vs. 0.00 (0.00, 0.02), both P > 0.05]. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under ROC curve (AUC) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) of miR-1 in the diagnosis of coronary plaque rupture were 0.794 (0.687-0.900), P < 0.01, the sensitivity was 82.8%, the specificity was 68.4%, and the optimal cut-off value was 1.51. The AUC and 95%CI of the difference of miR-1 before and after operation (ΔmiR-1) were 0.704 (0.567-0.842), P = 0.004, the sensitivity was 62.1%, the specificity was 84.2%, and the optimal cut-off value was 0.39. The efficancy of miR-1 and ΔmiR-1 after procedure to diagnose coronary plaque rupture in patients with SCAD was similar (Z = 1.287, P = 0.198). However, baseline miR-1 might not predict whether patients with SCAD need PCI or not (AUC = 0.630, P > 0.05). Multivariate binary Logistic regression analysis showed that increased postoperative miR-1 expression was an independent risk factor for coronary plaque rupture in SCAD patients [odds ratios (OR) = 2.887, 95%CI was 1.044-7.978, P = 0.041].

CONCLUSIONS

Circulating miR-1 might have the value for early diagnosis of coronary artery plaque rupture in SCAD patients.