Plasma microvesicle analysis identifies microRNA 129-5p as a biomarker of heart failure in univentricular heart disease

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 12; no. 8; p. e0183624
• Main Authors: Ramachandran, Sweta, Lowenthal, Alexander, Ritner, Carissa, Lowenthal, Shiri, Bernstein, Harold S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 31.08.2017; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adults; Amino acids; Biological markers; Biology and life sciences; Biomarkers; Biomarkers - blood; Cardiomyocytes; Cardiovascular disease; Cell culture; Cell-Derived Microparticles - metabolism; Cell-Derived Microparticles - pathology; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Coronary artery disease; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diagnosis; Disease Progression; Female; Gene expression; Health aspects; Heart; Heart diseases; Heart failure; Heart Failure - blood; Heart Failure - physiopathology; Heart Ventricles - metabolism; Heart Ventricles - physiopathology; Humans; Hypertension; Identification and classification; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Lung diseases; Male; Medicine and Health Sciences; Metabolism; Methods; MicroRNA; MicroRNAs - blood; miRNA; Mutation; Oxidative stress; Palliation; Patients; Pediatrics; Physiology; Plasma; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; Stem cells; Ventricle; San Francisco California; Israel; California; United States > US
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183624

Biomarkers of heart failure in adults have been extensively studied. However, biomarkers to monitor the progression of heart failure in children with univentricular physiology are less well understood. We proposed that as mediators of diverse pathophysiology, miRNAs contained within circulating microvesicles could serve as biomarkers for the presence and progression of heart failure in univentricular patients. To test this, we studied the association of heart failure with elevations in specific miRNAs isolated from circulating microvesicles in a cohort of children with univentricular heart disease and heart failure. We conducted a single site cross-sectional observational study of 71 children aged 1 month-7 years with univentricular heart disease and heart failure. We demonstrated that levels of miR129-5p isolated from plasma microvesicles were inversely related to the degree of clinical heart failure as assessed by Ross score. We then showed that miR129-5p levels are downregulated in HL1 cells and human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes exposed to oxidative stress. We demonstrated that bone morphogenetic protein receptor 2, which has been implicated in the development of pulmonary vascular disease, is a target of miR129-5p, and conversely regulated in response to oxidative stress in cell culture. Levels of miR129-5p were inversely related to the degree of clinical heart failure in patients with univentricular heart disease. This study demonstrates that miR129-5p is a sensitive and specific biomarker for heart failure in univentricular heart disease independent of ventricular morphology or stage of palliation. Further study is warranted to understand the targets affected by miR129-5p with the development of heart failure in patients with univentricular physiology.