Circulating miR-499 as a potential biomarker for acute myocardial infarction.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI), a common heart disease that may lead to chronic heart failure, is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that mediate the expression of target genes. Recently, a number of miRNAs are emerging as potential biomarkers of AMI. MiRNA-499 is a newly discovered member of miRNAs, and is mainly expressed in myocardium, the circulating levels of miRNA-499 was increased in AMI patients. This review summarizes the latest advances in the miRNA-499 study and discusses the potential of miRNA-499 to be a biomarker of AMI.