Non-Coding RNAs as Blood-Based Biomarkers in Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract

In 2020, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain a leading cause of mortality and morbidity, contributing to the burden of the already overloaded health system. Late or incorrect diagnosis of patients with CVDs compromises treatment efficiency and patient's outcome. Diagnosis of CVDs could be facilitated by detection of blood-based biomarkers that reliably reflect the current condition of the heart. In the last decade, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) present on human biofluids including serum, plasma, and blood have been reported as potential biomarkers for CVDs. This paper reviews recent studies that focus on the use of ncRNAs as biomarkers of CVDs.

Keywords: biomarkers; cardiovascular diseases; diagnosis; ncRNAs.

Figure 1

Illustrative cytoscape network combining the studies reported within this review. Aortic valve stenosis (red), congenital heart disease (pink), coronary artery disease (green), myocardial infarction (yellow), aortic aneurism (orange), and pulmonary hypertension (blue) are the five central nodes (diamond shape) and specific associations to ncRNAs are denoted by edges. The different ncRNAs are represented by different edges shapes: miRNAs are in circular shape, lncRNAs are in rectangular shape, and circRNAs are in triangular shape. Dashed lines represent upregulated plasma ncRNAs, while solid lines represent downregulated ncRNAs in plasma.