miRNA–mRNA network analysis reveals novel post-transcriptional regulators and therapeutic targets in coronary artery disease
摘要
Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, driven by complex gene regulatory mechanisms. Non coding RNAs such as microRNAs (miRNAs) act as pivotal regulators of CAD pathogenesis. This study employed a multi-omics in silico approach to uncover microRNA (miRNA)-mediated regulatory networks in CAD. Differentially expressed miRNAs were identified from patient cohorts and mapped to target genes. Overlapping common genes (OCGs) between predicted targets and CAD-associated DEGs were used to construct a regulatory network. Hub miRNAs were prioritized, identifying 20 key regulators, including 11 novel hub-level regulatory candidates not previously prioritized as master regulators in integrated CAD miRNA network analyses. Functional enrichment confirmed the involvement of these OCGs in atherosclerosis and cardiomyopathy. A competing endogenous miRNA-lncRNA network was built to explore multi-layered regulation. Possible drug targets were analyzed to assess therapeutic potential for the results. This integrative pipeline offers insights into miRNA-driven CAD mechanisms and highlights novel biomarkers and targets for clinical implementation.
Graphical Abstract