Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are implicated in various cellular and
pathological processes. Two lncRNAs, myocardial infarction-associated transcript
(
MIAT
) and metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma
transcript 1 (
MALAT1
), may be involved in the pathogenesis of
coronary artery disease (CAD). Here, we aimed to determine the relative
circulating levels of
MIAT
and
MALAT1
in 110
stable CAD patients and 117 controls and to correlate their levels with the
clinical and laboratory data. Peripheral blood expression levels were quantified
by Real-Time qPCR. The median
MIAT
expression level in CAD
patients was significantly 12-fold higher than controls
(
p
<0.001). Otherwise, the median
MALAT1
expression level was comparable in patient and control groups. Both lncRNAs
showed significantly higher relative expression levels in patients with positive
history of previous cardiac ischemic events, and
MIAT
showed
significantly higher expression in diabetic CAD patients. The area under the
curve of
MIAT
(0.888 ± 0.02 with sensitivity 95.5% and
specificity 72.7%), was significantly larger than that of
MALAT1
(0.601 ± 0.04 with sensitivity 50% and specificity
63.6%) for detecting the presence of significant CAD. The current findings
suggest that lncRNA
MIAT
could have a diagnostic significance
in CAD patients.
MALAT1
levels, however, are not sufficiently
reliable to have much clinical use in our cases.