Search for a prognostic biomarker of cardiovascular disease in the Italian population: focus on the potential role of circulating microRN

Research project funded by the Ministry of Health thanks to the 2018 Finalized Research Call - collaboration between Centro Cardiologico S.P.A. Monzino Foundation and the Department of Cardiovascular, Endocrine-metabolic Diseases and Aging of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità.

Background: In a previous study conducted in a European cohort of patients with 3 or more traditional atherosclerosis risk factors, the Centro Cardiologico S.P.A. Fondazione Monzino found that circulating miRs and new ultrasonographic variables of arterial wall composition and atherosclerotic plaque vulnerability (echolucency) may represent new prognostic biomarkers for CVD. The project was conducted using the database and biobank of the IMPROVE, a prospective, multicenter, longitudinal, observational cohort study, funded by EU within the 5th FP, specifically designed to investigate the associations between new biomarkers of atherosclerosis and the onset of VEs (over a 3-yr follow-up) in 3703 European subjects with 3 or more CV risk factors.

Aim: The project aims to identify and validate that a microRNA (miR) cluster has a prognostic potential for adverse events in the general Italian adult population.

Methods: Two nested case-control studies will be performed based on data collected in cohorts related to the Progetto CUORE with available plasma samples. The first study as exploratory study, the second as confirmatory.