Only recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) were found to exist in traceable and distinctive amounts in the human circulatory system, bringing forth the intriguing possibility of using them as minimally invasive biomarkers. miRNAs are short non-coding RNAs that act as potent post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. Extensive studies in cancer and other disease landscapes investigate the protective/pathogenic functions of dysregulated miRNAs, as well as their biomarker potential. A specialized resource amassing experimentally verified, circulating miRNA biomarkers does not exist. We queried the existing literature to identify articles assessing diagnostic/prognostic roles of miRNAs in blood, serum, or plasma samples. Articles were scrutinized in order to exclude instances lacking sufficient experimental documentation or employing no biomarker assessment methods. We incorporated information from more than 200 biomedical articles, annotating crucial meta-information including cohort sizes, inclusion-exclusion criteria, disease/healthy confirmation methods and quantification details. miRNAs and diseases were systematically characterized using reference resources. Our circulating miRNA biomarker collection is provided as an online database, plasmiR. It consists of 1021 entries regarding 251 miRNAs and 112 diseases. More than half of plasmiR’s entries refer to cancerous and neoplastic conditions, 183 of them (32%) describing prognostic associations. plasmiR facilitates smart queries, emphasizing visualization and exploratory modes for all researchers.

Background: Early changes in breast intratumor heterogeneity during neoadjuvant chemotherapy may reflect the tumor’s ability to adapt and evade treatment. We investigated the combination of precision medicine predictors of genomic and MRI data towards improved prediction of recurrence free survival (RFS). Methods: A total of 100 women from the ACRIN 6657/I-SPY 1 trial were retrospectively analyzed. We estimated MammaPrint, PAM50 ROR-S, and p53 mutation scores from publicly available gene expression data and generated four, voxel-wise 3-D radiomic kinetic maps from DCE-MR images at both pre- and early-treatment time points. Within the primary lesion from each kinetic map, features of change in radiomic heterogeneity were summarized into 6 principal components. Results: We identify two imaging phenotypes of change in intratumor heterogeneity (p < 0.01) demonstrating significant Kaplan-Meier curve separation (p < 0.001). Adding phenotypes to established prognostic factors, functional tumor volume (FTV), MammaPrint, PAM50, and p53 scores in a Cox regression model improves the concordance statistic for predicting RFS from 0.73 to 0.79 (p = 0.002). Conclusions: These results demonstrate an important step in combining personalized molecular signatures and longitudinal imaging data towards improved prognosis.

Calcific aortic valve stenosis (CAVS), characterized by calcium deposition in the aortic valve in a multiannual process, is associated with high mortality and morbidity. To understand phenomena at its early stages, reliable animal models are needed. Here, we used a critically revised high-fat vitamin D2 diet rabbit model to unveil the earliest in vivo-derived mechanisms linked to CAVS progression. We modeled the inflammation-calcification temporal pattern seen in human disease and investigated molecular changes before inflammation. Coupling comprehensive multiomics and vibrational spectroscopy revealed that among the many procedures involved, mechanotransduction, peroxisome activation, DNA damage-response, autophagy, phospholipid signaling, native ECM proteins upregulation, protein cross-linking and self-folding, are the most relevant driving mechanisms. Activation of Complement 3 receptor, Immunoglobulin J and TLR6 were the earliest signs of inflammation. Among several identified key genes were AXIN2, FOS, and JUNB. Among 10 identified miRNAs, miR-21-5p and miR-204-5p dominated fundamental cellular processes, phenotypic transition, inflammatory modulation, and were validated in human samples. The enzymatic biomineralization process mediated by TNAP was complemented by V-type proton ATPase overexpression, and the substitution of Mg-pyrophosphate with Ca-pyrophosphate. These data extend our understanding on CAVS progression, facilitate the refinement of pathophysiological hypotheses and provide a basis for novel pharmaceutical therapy investigations.