Challenges of microRNA‐based biomarkers in clinical application for cardiovascular diseases

Emerging omics technologies are providing innovative tools for medical-decision making. A search of the current scientific literature clearly indicates that among transcriptomic biomarkers, microRNAs (miRNAs) are the most promising. A wide array of studies suggests that the circulatingmiRNA signature reflects the physiological or pathological status of a subject. Accordingly, the analysis of miRNA patterns may not only lead to novel approaches for diagnosis, prognostication, and selection of appropriate therapies, but also may help to understand the molecular pathways that mediate the pathology and regulate the interindividual variability to medical treatments.1 From a technical point of view, miRNAs may have the optimal biochemical properties to become easily accessible indicators. These small transcripts are highly stable, have a long half-life in biological samples, their analysis does not require any special handling and can be applied to samples currently available. miRNAs can be quantified with relatively low cost, high sensitivity, and high specificity through standard techniques already employed in clinical laboratories such as quantitative PCR.