Novel biomarkers in the prognosis, progression and treatment of cardiovascular disease: The role of microRNAs

摘要

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the world's leading cause of morbidity and mortality and can be influenced by a multitude of risk factors. Furthermore, there is a clear tendency of increasing prevalence of cardiovascular disease worldwide. An early and accurate diagnosis may warrant immediate initiation of an effective therapy and a reduced mortality rate. An ideal biomarker should be abundantly and preferentially expressed in the tissue of interest, and be typically present at low concentrations in the blood and other body fluids [1,2]. Upon tissue injury, such biomarkers are released into the systemic circulation, where they can be detected in a blood-based assay. Biomarkers, used to establish a diagnosis in patients with heart disease, have emerged largely from targeted analyses of known myocardial proteins and become more and more important for diagnosis of cardiovascular disease [3,4]. Current biomarkers such as creatine kinase—MB isoenzymes and cardiac troponins have been widely applied in clinical diagnosis. Among these, cardiac troponins are currently considered as the 'gold standard' for acute myocardial infarction diagnosis [5]. Clinical management of heart disease is facilitated by circulating biomarkers like brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) [6,7].