Plasma miRNA profiles associated with stable warfarin dosage in Chinese patients

Background. We used bioinformatic analysis and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assays to investigate the association between plasma microRNAs (miRNAs) and stable warfarin dosage in a Chinese Han population. Methods. Bioinformatics analysis was used to screen out potential warfarin dose-associated miRNAs. Three plasma miRNAs were validated in 99 samples by RT-qPCR. Kruskal-Wallis test and multivariate logistic regression were used to compare differences in plasma miRNAs expression levels between three warfarin dosage groups. Results. There were significant between-group differences among the three dose groups for hsa-miR-133b expression (p = 0.005), but we observed an "n-shaped" dose-dependent curve rather than a linear relationship. Expression levels of hsa-miR-24-3p (p = 0.475) and hsa-miR-1276 (p = 0.558) were not significantly different in the multivariate logistic regression. Conclusion. miRNAs have received extensive attention as ideal biomarkers and possible therapeutic targets for various diseases. However, they are not yet widely used in precision medicine. Our results indicate that hsa-miR-133b may be a possible reference factor for the warfarin dosage algorithm. These findings emphasize the importance of a comprehensive evaluation of complex relationships in warfarin dose prediction models and provide new avenues for future pharmacogenomics studies.