The Association of Circulating MiR-29b and Interleukin-6 with Subclinical Atherosclerosis

• Published in: Cellular physiology and biochemistry Vol. 44; no. 4; pp. 1537 - 1544
• Main Authors: Huang, Yu-qing, Li, Jie, Chen, Ji-yan, Zhou, Ying-ling, Cai, An-ping, Huang, Cheng, Feng, Ying-qing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland S. Karger AG 01.12.2017; Cell Physiol Biochem Press GmbH & Co KG
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Area Under Curve; Atherosclerosis; Atherosclerosis - blood; Atherosclerosis - diagnosis; Biomarkers; Blood pressure; Body Mass Index; C-Reactive Protein; Cardiovascular disease; Carotid arteries; Carotid Arteries - diagnostic imaging; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; Case-Control Studies; Cholesterol; Cholesterol - blood; Cytokines; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Gene expression; Health care; Heart; Humans; Interleukin-6; Interleukin-6 - blood; Laboratories; Linear Models; Male; MicroRNA; MicroRNAs - blood; Middle Aged; MiR-29b; Original Paper; ROC Curve; Sensitivity and Specificity; Smooth muscle; Subclinical atherosclerosis; Ultrasonic imaging; Ultrasonography; United States > US; MiR-29b; Subclinical atherosclerosis; MicroRNA; Interleukin-6
• ISSN: 1015-8987; 1421-9778; 1421-9778
• DOI: 10.1159/000485649

Background/Aims: Although it is widely acknowledged that atherosclerosis is mainly a chronic inflammatory process, in which both miR-29b and interleukin-6 (IL-6) play multifaceted roles, the association between miR-29b and IL-6 remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between miR-29b and IL-6 and to test whether circulating levels of miR-29b and IL-6 could predict atherosclerosis. Methods: A total of 170 participants were divided into two groups according to carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT): study group (CIMT ≥ 0.9mm) and control group (CIMT < 0.9mm). Levels of circulating miR-29b and IL-6 were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. The association of miR-29b and IL-6 levels with CIMT was assessed using Spearman correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. Results: The study group showed higher miR-29b levels (31.61 ± 3.05 vs. 27.91 ± 1.71 Ct, p < 0.001) and IL-6 levels (3.40 ± 0.67 vs. 2.99 ± 0.37 pg/ml, p < 0.001), compared with the control group. CIMT was positively correlated with miR-29b (r = 0.587, p < 0.001) and IL-6 (r = 0.410, p < 0.001), and miR-29b levels were also correlated with IL-6 (r = 0.242, p = 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis also showed that CIMT was positively correlated with miR-29b and IL-6. After adjustment for age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol and C-reactive protein, CIMT was still closely correlated with miR-29b and IL-6. The combination of miR-29b and IL-6 (AUC = 0.901, p < 0.001) offered a better predictive index for atherosclerosis than either miR-29b (AUC = 0.867, p < 0.001) or IL-6 (AUC = 0.747, p < 0.001) alone. Conclusion: Circulating levels of miR-29b and IL-6 may be independently correlated with subclinical atherosclerosis, and may serve as novel biomarkers for the identification of atherosclerosis.