Patients with Gitelman syndrome had significantly higher median expression of miR-103 (80.25 vs 23.94 copies/sample, p=0.0034) and miR-155 (528.7 vs 64.40, p=0.0015) than healthy controls.
Case-Control (n=37)
No
Do patients with Gitelman syndrome have different circulating levels of miR-155 and miR-103 compared to healthy controls?
Patients with Gitelman syndrome have significantly higher circulating levels of miR-103 and miR-155 compared to healthy controls, suggesting a potential role in modulating Angiotensin II-related cardiovascular remodeling.
Absolute Event Rate: 80.25% vs 23.94%
p-value: p=0.0034
Objective: miR-155 and miR-103 are multifunctional miRNAs known to be involved in Angiotensin II (Ang II) signaling linked with hypertension and cardiovascular remodeling, although their role is controversial and not completely clarified. Gitelman syndrome (GS) represents a human model of an endogenous Ang II signaling antagonism and GS patients are in fact protected from Ang II-mediated cardiovascular remodeling. This study aimed to examine the expression of miR-155 and miR-103 in GS and to compare it to healthy control subjects. Design and method: 16 GS patients genetically and biochemically characterized were recruited from the cohort in active follow-up at the Nephrology Unit of Padua University Hospital, while 21 healthy subjects matched by age and sex volunteered for the study as control group. Total RNA, preserving miRNA population was isolated from plasma and miR-155 and miR-103 were then quantified in the two cohorts using digital droplet PCR. Data were expressed in mean±SD or median and interquantile range (IQR), depending on their distribution. The Mann Whitney U test was used to compare miRNA data from the two populations given their non-normal distribution. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: In GS patients (N=16, 6 males, mean age 43.22±14.28), median miR-103 expression was 80.25 copies/sample (IQR 94.43), while in controls (N=21, 8 males, mean age 44.33±12.02) it was 23.94 (IQR 23.94) copies/sample. The difference was statistically significant (p = 0.0034). Regarding miR-155, the median number of copies/sample in the GS group was 528.7 (IQR 573.2) vs 64.40 (IQR 322.0) copies/sample in the controls group. The difference was statistically significant (p=0.0015). (Figure 1)Conclusions: This is the first study investigating circulating miRNAs in GS patients. GS patients show a higher expression of both miR-103 and miR-155. Further studies are ongoing to better understand the role of these miRNAs in Ang II signaling in GS. Nevertheless, our opening findings on miR-103 and miR-155 might provide a rationale for future studies exploring miRNA-based therapeutics aimed at modulating Ang II–related cardiovascular damage in hypertension.
Cacciapuoti et al. (Fri,) conducted a case-control in Gitelman syndrome (n=37). Gitelman syndrome vs. Healthy controls was evaluated on Expression of miR-103 (p=0.0034). Patients with Gitelman syndrome had significantly higher median expression of miR-103 (80.25 vs 23.94 copies/sample, p=0.0034) and miR-155 (528.7 vs 64.40, p=0.0015) than healthy controls.