Catheter ablation restores decreased plasma miR-409-3p and miR-432 in atrial fibrillation patients

AIMS: Despite numerous studies identifying specific microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles associated with atrial fibrillation (AF), changes in plasma miRNA expression in pre- and post-operative AF patients who have received catheter ablation, remain poorly characterized. This study aimed to reveal disease-related biomarkers by detecting plasma miRNA expression in AF patients, and examining the levels of AF-specific miRNAs in patients after catheter ablation, in order to help gauge therapeutic effects and assess prognosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 100 Han Chinese patients with AF who had received catheter ablation, and 100 healthy individuals, were sequentially recruited to the study. Atrial fibrillation-specific plasma miRNAs were detected by Solexa sequencing and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The expression levels of AF-specific miRNAs were also investigated in 40 post-operative patients (24-48 h) and 20 patients followed up (58.52 ± 36.00 days) after catheter ablation, to explore changes in miRNA expression. The expressions of miR-409-3p and miR-432 in the plasma of AF patients were lower than healthy individuals. In binary logistic regression analyses, reduced miR-409-3p and miR-432 levels were independently associated with AF (95% confidence interval: 1.02-2.22 and 1.09-2.43, P = 0.040 and 0.018, respectively). The levels of miR-409-3p and miR-432 showed no significant difference between post-operative patients and healthy individuals (P = 0.411 and 0.681, respectively), or between followed-up patients and healthy individuals (P = 0.720 and 0.073, respectively). CONCLUSION: We suggest that plasma miR-409-3p and miR-432 are potential markers of AF, and catheter ablation restores their decreased levels in AF patients.