MicroRNA profile of circulating CD4(+) T cells in aged patients with atherosclerosis obliterans

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the specificity of the expression patterns of microRNAs (miRNAs) in circulating CD4(+) T cells in aged patients with atherosclerosis obliterans (ASO). METHODS: A comprehensive miRNA expression study was conducted using a miRNA microarray of CD4(+) T cells isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of 33 patients with ASO and 24 healthy donors. A t test was used for statistical analysis, and the average linkage method was used for hierarchical clustering. The results were validated by qRT–PCR. Putative targeted pathways associated with validated miRNAs were predicted with the online software DIANA miRPath. RESULTS: We identified 44 miRNAs based on a cutoff value of a 1.3-fold change in expression between the two groups, with 18 miRNAs showing a false discovery rate (FDR) p value < 0.05. The qRT–PCR analysis validated differences in 12 miRNAs, and 6 miRNAs were proven to be differentially expressed among three age groups (age: 35–55 years; 56–75 years; 76–95 years): the miRNAs miR-21 (p: 0.0008; 0.0009; 0.0022), miR-29b (p: 0.453; < 0.0001; < 0.0001), and miR-374b (p: < 0.0001; < 0.0001; 0.2493) showed upregulated expression in patients with ASO, while miR-142-3p (p: < 0.0001; < 0.0001; < 0.0001), miR-142-5p (p: < 0.0001; < 0.0001; < 0.0001), and miR-150 (p: < 0.0001; < 0.0001; 0.0001) showed downregulated expression in patients with ASO. The validated miRNAs participated in CD4(+) T cell activation, proliferation, and migration pathways. CONCLUSIONS: Circulating CD4(+) T cells in aged patients with ASO may show a distinct molecular signature. This is the first time that a distinctive, validated miRNA profile from circulating CD4(+) T cells in atherosclerosis has been presented. This miRNA signature may be used to help elucidate the underlying mechanism of atherosclerosis. Further clinical studies and in-depth reports will contribute to identifying predictive and therapeutic targets in these patients with atherosclerosis. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12872-022-02616-7.