Circulating microRNA-126 as an independent risk predictor of coronary artery disease: A case-control study

context circulating microRNAs (miR) have revolutionized the field of molecular biology owing to their potential as a diagnostic as well as a prognostic biomarker of cardiovascular disease and dysfunctions. the present study aims to identify the circulating miR-126 and -122 as an independent risk predictors of coronary artery disease cases. methods and material Blood samples were collected from coronary artery disease cases (n=100) and non-CAD cases (n=100). Serum RNA was isolated by Trizol method. MiR levels were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction with the specific primer probe set. results MiR-126 levels were significantly down-regulated in CAD cases compared to non-CAD cases (controls) (80.0% vs. 39.0%, X2=14.95, p<0.001). the level of miR-122 was significantly up-regulated in CAD cases in comparison to its non-CAD variant (14.0% vs. 63.0%, X2=21.23, p<0.001). multivariate analysis found chest pain (OR=37.07, 95% CI=3.21-169.04, p=0.017) and miR-126 (OR=0.01, 95% CI=0.00-0.63, p=0.030) as independent risk predictors of CAD. conclusion the results of our study show the potential of circulating miR-126 as a novel non-invasive biomarker in the risk prediction of CAD. Further unraveling of the role of miR-122 and miR-126 in the pathogenesis and progression of CAD will add to our understanding of the disease process leading to a new diagnostic approach.