Comparison of plasma microRNA-1 and cardiac troponin T in early diagnosis of patients with acute myocardial infarction

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Early reperfusion can effectively treat acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and reduce the mortality significantly. This study aimed to compare the role of plasma microRNA-1 (miR-1) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) in early diagnosis of AMI patients. METHODS: From May 2011 to May 2012, plasma samples were collected from 56 AMI patients and 28 non-AMI controls. The expression of plasma miR-1 was measured by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and the level of plasma cTnT was measured using electrochemiluminescence-based methods on an Elecsys 2010 Immunoassay Analyzer. SPSS 16.0 was used for the statistical analysis of the results. Data were expressed as mean±standard deviation unless otherwise described. The differences about clinical characteristics between the AMI patients and controls were tested using Student's t test or Fisher's exact test. The Mann-Whitney U test was conducted to compare the expression of microRNAs between the AMI patients and controls. MicroRNAs expression between different intervals of the AMI patients was compared using Wilcoxon's signed-rank test. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was established to discriminate the AMI patients from the controls. RESULTS: In the present study, the expression of plasma miR-1 was significantly increased in the AMI patients compared with the healthy controls (P<0.01). The plasma miR-1 in the AMI patients decreased to the normal level at 14 days (P>0.05). The expression of plasma miR-1 was not related to the clinical characteristics of the study population (P>0.05). ROC curve analyses demonstrated that miR-1 was specific and sensitive for the early diagnosis of AMI, but not superior to cTnT. CONCLUSION: Plasma miR-1 could be used in the early diagnosis of AMI, but it is similar to cTnT.