Mitochondrial dysfunction is a key contributor to the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease (CVD), one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Mitochondria-associated microRNAs (mitomiRs) have emerged as critical regulators of mitochondrial homeostasis and cardiac function; however, their clinical utility as circulating biomarkers remains incompletely defined. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic potential of circulating hsa-miR-181c-5p and hsa-miR-106a-5p in patients with CVD and to assess their applicability as early, non-invasive biomarkers in an Iraqi cohort. In this case–control study, plasma samples were obtained from 30 patients with clinically diagnosed cardiovascular disease and 30 age-matched healthy controls. Total RNA was extracted, followed by complementary DNA synthesis. Expression levels of hsa-miR-181c-5p and hsa-miR-106a-5p were quantified using reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Diagnostic performance was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Plasma levels of hsa-miR-181c-5p were significantly upregulated in CVD patients, exhibiting a three-fold increase compared with controls (p = 0.0001). Likewise, hsa-miR-106a-5p expression was elevated by approximately four-fold in the CVD group (p = 0.0008). ROC analysis demonstrated robust discriminatory power for both miRNAs, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.796 for hsa-miR-181c-5p (p = 0.0002) and 0.749 for hsa-miR-106a-5p (p = 0.0010). Our findings identify circulating hsa-miR-181c-5p and hsa-miR-106a-5p as promising mitomiR-based biomarkers for cardiovascular disease. Their significant upregulation and diagnostic accuracy support their potential role in early, non-invasive detection of CVD and highlight the clinical relevance of mitochondrial miRNA dysregulation in cardiovascular pathology.
Nabi et al. (2026) studied this question.