Kardiologia Polska
Circulating small extracellular vesicle-microRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers of vasovagal syncope
By Chao Xue, Xin Chen, Junfeng Zhang and 7 others.
Abstract
Background
Vasovagal syncope (VVS) is the most prevalent cause of reflex syncope worldwide, yet it lacks reliable diagnostic biomarkers and its pathophysiological mechanisms remain unclear.
Aims
Our aims was to explore whether the small extracellular vesicles (sEVs)-derived microRNAs (miRNAs) could serve as stable, noninvasive diagnostic biomarkers for VVS.
Methods
A case-control study was conducted at Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital with 3 cohorts: 1) Discovery cohort (August–October 2024): 12 recurrent VVS patients, providing paired samples during asymptomatic phases (pre-syncope) and immediately post-head-up tilt test-induced syncope, alongside 8 matched healthy controls (HC); 2) Validation cohort (November 2024–January 2025): 20 VVS and 18 HC; 3) Diagnostic cohort (February–April 2025): 30 syncope patients of unknown etiology and 10 HC. Plasma sEVs-derived microRNAs underwent small RNA sequencing and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.