Abstract
We investigated the expression levels of microRNA-1 (miRNA-1) and microRNA-21 (miRNA-21) in the atrial tissues of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and the molecular mechanism of action in atrial remodeling. Patients with valvular heart disease were selected as the subjects. The ultrastructure, degree of myocardial fibrosis, apoptosis index (AI), expression of microRNA-1, expression of microRNA-21, and mRNA of TIMP-1, MMP-9, BCL-2, and Bax of patients were compared and analyzed in each group. The results showed that the degree of myocardial fibrosis and AI in patients with AF of the same age were extremely higher than those of patients with sinus rhythm (SR) (P < 0.01). Patients with AF showed much higher messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of mini-mental Parkinson 9 (MMP9) and Bax and obvious lover mRNA levels of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1) and Bcl-2 compared with patients with sinus rhythm (SR) (P < 0.05). It indicated that the expression of miRNA-1 in the AF patients was markedly down-regulated, and that miRNA-21 was up-regulated. This showed that microRNA-1 and microRNA-21 were involved in the molecular remodeling of aging AF through the regulation of primers, which would provide a critical basis for diagnosis and treatment of aging AF.