Droplet digital PCR as a novel detection method for quantifying microRNAs in acute myocardial infarction.

Background: micro-RNAs have shown promise as potential biomarkers for acute myocardial infarction and ischemia-reperfusion injury (I/R). Most recently droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) has been introduced as a more reliable and reproducible method for detecting micro-RNAs.

Aims: We aimed to demonstrate the improved technical performance and diagnostic potential of ddPCR by measuring micro-RNAs in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Chip-based digital PCR as a novel detection method for quantifying microRNAs in acute myocardial infarction patients.

miRNAs have shown promise as potential biomarkers for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, the current used quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) allows solely for relative expression of nucleic acids and it is susceptible to day-to-day variability, which has limited the validity of using the miRNAs as biomarkers. In this study we explored the technical qualities and diagnostic potential of a new technique, chip-based digital PCR, in quantifying the miRNAs in patients with AMI and ischaemia-reperfusion injury (I/R).

Circulating HtrA2 as a novel biomarker for mitochondrial induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis and ischemia-reperfusion injury in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

Background: Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) significantly contributes to overall myocardial damage. As a consequence of I/R injury in the heart, the high-temperature requirement protein A2 (HtrA2) is released from the mitochondrial intermembrane space of cardiomyocytes to the cytoplasm, whereupon it induces apoptosis.

Methods: Serum was obtained from STEMI (n=37), non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) (n=20), stable coronary artery disease (CAD) (n=17) and patients with CAD excluded (n=9).

Platelet-neutrophil complex formation-a detailed in vitro analysis of murine and human blood samples.

Platelets form complexes with neutrophils during inflammatory processes. These aggregates migrate into affected tissues and also circulate within the organism. Several studies have evaluated platelet-neutrophil complexes as a marker of cardiovascular diseases in human and mouse.