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Thromb Haemost 2013; 110(03): 609-615
DOI: 10.1160/TH13-05-0368
New Technologies, Diagnostic Tools and Drugs
Schattauer GmbH

Impact of intravenous heparin on quantification of circulating microRNAs in patients with coronary artery disease

Dorothee Kaudewitz   *
1   King’s British Heart Foundation Centre, King’s College London, UK
,
Regent Lee   *
2   Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Oxford, UK
,
Peter Willeit
1   King’s British Heart Foundation Centre, King’s College London, UK
3   Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, UK
,
Reuben McGregor
1   King’s British Heart Foundation Centre, King’s College London, UK
,
Hugh S. Markus
4   Stroke and Dementia Research Centre, St George’s Hospital, London, UK
,
Stefan Kiechl
5   Department of Neurology, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
,
Anna Zampetaki
1   King’s British Heart Foundation Centre, King’s College London, UK
,
Robert F. Storey
6   Department of Cardiovascular Science, University of Sheffield, UK
,
Keith M. Channon
2   Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Oxford, UK
,
Manuel Mayr
1   King’s British Heart Foundation Centre, King’s College London, UK
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Received: 07 May 2013

Accepted: 22 May 2013

Publication Date:
22 November 2017 (online)

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Summary

MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that are detectable in plasma and serum. Circulating levels of microRNAs have been measured in various studies related to cardiovascular disease. Heparin is a potential confounder of microRNA measurements due to its known interference with polymerase chain reactions. In this study, platelet-poor plasma was obtained from patients undergoing cardiac catheterisation for diagnostic coronary angiography, or for percutaneous coronary intervention, both before and after heparin administration. Heparin had pronounced effects on the assessment of the exogenous C. elegans spike-in control (decrease by approx. 3 cycles), which disappeared 6 hours after the heparin bolus. Measurements of endogenous microRNAs were less sensitive to heparin medication. Normalisation of individual microRNAs with the average cycle threshold value of all microRNAs provided a suitable alternative to normalisation with exogenous C. elegans spike-in control in this setting. Thus, both the timing of blood sampling relative to heparin dosing and the normalisation procedure are critical for reliable microRNA measurements in patients receiving intravenous heparin. This has to be taken into account when designing studies to investigate the relation of circulating microRNAs to acute cardiovascular events or coronary intervention.

Keywords

Cardiology - coronary syndrome - clinical trials - heparins

* These authors contributed equally.


 

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