A novel miRNA screen identifies miRNA-4454 as a candidate biomarker for ventricular fibrosis in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Left ventricular hypertrophy, myocardial disarray and interstitital fibrosis are the hallmarks of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Access to the myocardium for diagnostic purposes is limited. Circulating biomolecules reflecting the myocardial disease processes could improve early detection of HCM. Circulating miRNAs have been found to reflect disease processes in several cardiovascular diseases. Circulating miR-1, miR-495-3p and miR-4454 levels are elevated in plasma of HCM patients. miR-4454 is suggested as a potential biomarker for fibrosis in these patients. A total of 800 miRNA were screened in plasma of 24 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and 11 healthy controls using nCounter technology and qPCR analyses.