Circulating miR-21 and miR-423-5p as biomarkers for heart failure in heart valve disease patients

Objective: The potential diagnostic value of circulating miRNAs in heart failure (HF) due to heart valve disease (VHD) remains elusive. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential value of serum miR-21 and miR-423-5p for HF diagnosis. Methods: Serum samples from 60 VHD patients with HF were collected for investigation, and 60 healthy subjects' samples were used as the control. The expression level of serum miR-21 and miR-423-5p was measured by QRT-PCR. ROC curve analysis and Pearson correlation analysis were performed to determine the diagnostic value. Results: The expression of miR-21 and miR-423-5p in sera was markedly increased in VHD patients than normal control (both P < 0.05). Besides, serum miR-21 and miR-423-5p showed independent and effective diagnostic utilities for HF due to VHD. The AUC of serum miR-423-5p was 0.805 for distinguishing the VHD patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). Conclusions: Serum miR-21 and miR-423-5p showed potential diagnostic values on HF due to VHD. Moreover, serum miR-423-5p could function as an effective biomarker for diagnosing VHD patients with PH.