title: The Relationship of Plasma miR-29a and Oxidized Low Density Lipoprotein with Atherosclerosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory condition associated with a variety of vascular diseases. Previous studies showed that both miR-29a and oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) were vital in the development of atherosclerosis. However, the relationship between miR-29a and ox-LDL remains unknown. This study was designed to investigate the association of miR-29a and ox-LDL and to test whether circulating miR-29a and ox-LDL levels could predict atherosclerosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 170 participants, plasma levels of miR-29a were assessed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) while plasma ox-LDL levels were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. The relationship between miR-29a level and ox-LDL and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) was assessed using the Spearman correlation coefficient and multiple liner regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the normal cIMT group, the increased cIMT group had higher levels of ox-LDL (0.47 ± 0.08 vs 0.29 ± 0.06 ng/ml, p = 0.003) and miR-29a (32.93 ± 4.26 vs 26.37 ± 1.04, p < 0.001). A positive correlation was found between ox-LDL and miR-29a (r = 0.695, p < 0.001), and both the ox-LDL (r = 0.857, p < 0.001) and the miR-29a (r = 0.753, p < 0.001) were positively related to cIMT. Furthermore, multiple liner regression indicated that a significant correlation between ox-LDL and cIMT (β = 0.768, p < 0.001), as well as between miR-29a and cIMT (β = 0.686, p <0.001). The combination of miR-29a and ox-LDL (AUC = 0.926, p < 0.001) offered a better predictive value for atherosclerosis than either miR-29a (AUC = 0.759, p < 0.001) or ox-LDL (AUC = 0.762, p < 0.001) alone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increased miR-29a and ox-LDL levels were associated with an early stage of atherosclerosis, and the combination of miR-29a and ox-LDL offered better predictive values for atherosclerosis than either alone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Coronary Disease, Guangdong General Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Qing
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: An-Ping
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Ji-Yan
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ying-Qing
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Feng
mesh_terms: D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics*; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012372:ROC Curve
chemical_list: D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL; C532045:MIRN29a microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs; C099252:oxidized low density lipoprotein