Association Between Hypertension with and Without Left Ventricular Hypertrophy and the Expression of a Panel of microRNAs in an Iranian Population

Shokoufeh  Hajsadeghi; Reza  Nekouian; Maryam  Mollababaei; Hamed  Motevalli; Ehsan  Kalantar; Aida  Iranpour; Seyyed Amir Yasin  Ahmadi; Mohammad Sedigh  Dakkali

doi:10.18502/jthc.v20i1.19218

Shokoufeh Hajsadeghi Research Center for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Reza Nekouian Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Allied Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Pediatric Growth and Development Research Center, Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Maryam Mollababaei Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Allied Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Pediatric Growth and Development Research Center, Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Hamed Motevalli Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Ehsan Kalantar Student Research Committee, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Aida Iranpour Research Center for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Seyyed Amir Yasin Ahmadi Preventive Medicine and Public Health Research Center, Psychosocial Health Research Institute, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad Sedigh Dakkali Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jthc.v20i1.19218

Keywords: Molecular Epidemiology, Genetic Epidemiology, Personalized Medicine

Abstract

Introduction: Given the established role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in hypertension (HTN), this study aimed to analyze the expression of a defined miRNA panel in hypertensive individuals, both with and without left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), compared with normotensive controls within an Iranian population.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with case-control sampling, comprising three study groups: controls, HTN, and HTN+LVH. Through an extensive literature review, we selected a panel of eight miRNAs (miR-1, miR-21, miR-29a, miR-29b, miR-133, miR-155, miR-221, and miR-222) for analysis using real-time PCR. Gene expression data were analyzed through a general linear model implemented in R programming.

Results: The study analyzed 100 total samples. We used miR-29a and miR-133 as endogenous controls for calculations. Analysis revealed no significant association between miR-29b or miR-221 expression and the study groups (P>0.2 for both). Additionally, miR-1 demonstrated downregulation in both hypertensive groups (P<0.05), although this effect lost significance after adjusting for potential confounders (P=0.05–0.2). The HTN+LVH group showed significant downregulation of miR-21 (P<0.05). The duration of HTN diagnosis correlated with the upregulated expression of both miR-155 and miR-222. The strongest association emerged for miR-222, with the study groups explaining 25.7% of its variation (the highest R² value among all models).

Conclusions: HTN without LVH might be associated with the downregulation of miR-1 and miR-155 and the upregulation of miR-222. HTN, along with LVH, might be associated with the downregulation of miR-1 and miR-21 and the upregulation of miR-222. Increasing years of experiencing HTN were correlated with the upregulation of miR-155 and miR-222. The largest effect size was for miR-222.