There is clinical potential for miRNA as biomarkers in cardiovascular disease

Identifying biomarkers to detect heart diseases at early stages remains an important clinical goal. In recent years, research has turned to the study of miRNA as possible biomarkers due to their extensive role in biological processes and cell functionality in normal vs. diseased cells.

Microarrays and next-gen sequencing are proving to be important tools in this endeavor as they enable global expression profiling of miRNA, creating an expression signature for cells at particular stages of development or disease progression and so offers numerous possibilities for the study of biomarkers on a cellular level. First in the discovery of distinct miRNA sequences’ roles in the formation and regulation of cells, and second, as a tool for the detection of biomarkers that may ultimately prove to be indicators of disease stage, potential new therapeutic targets, and/or predictors of treatment efficacy.