The human pericardial fluid is enriched with cardiovascular-expressed microRNAs

The pericardial fluid (PF) surrounds the heart and it is contained in the pericardial sac. PF contains myocardial-derived factors. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are negative post-transcriptional regulators of their target genes and they can be released into extracellular vesicles (EVs) contributing to cell-to-cell communication. We hypothesize that the PF contains miRNAs of myocardial origin and that represents a niche for the exchange of miRNAs between heart cells. In order to investigate whether PF contains functionally active miRNAs, miRNA expression profiles on PF samples collected from three patients undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR) surgery performed during cardiopulmonary-bypass (CPB), were genereted. PF samples were collected from three patients undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR) surgery performed during cardiopulmonary-bypass (CPB).