Circulating microRNAs: a novel potential biomarker for diagnosing acute aortic dissection

Microarrays with 1,205 human microRNAs and 142 viral microRNAs were used for screening candidate diagnostic markers in the 3 categories of subjects from 24 plasma samples including acute aortic dissection, healthy and aortic aneurysm subjects. There were two microRNAs overlapping in the 3 group comparisons. Finally, 16 candidate microRNAs discovered via microarrays were selected for the further validation. A microarray containing probes for 1,205 human microRNAs and 142 viral microRNAs was initially used to screen the significant differential expression levels of microRNAs between the acute aortic dissection (n=8) and control groups (n=16, 8 aortic aneurysm patients and 8 healthy volunteers).