Novel methods to identify TCM constitution of hyperlipidemic patients and predict atherosclerotic diseases

Abstract

Hyperlipidemia can accelerate the progression of atherosclerosis, ultimately leading to cardiovascular disease. TCM constitution has been widely used as an indicator of health status and susceptibility to diseases. However, there still lack of objective, credible ways to identify TCM constitution of hyperlipidemic patients, and the connection between TCM constitution and atherosclerotic diseases in individuals with hyperlipidemia is unknown. This study aims to identify differentially expressed microRNAs (DEMs) as biomarkers of the TCM constitution of hyperlipidemic patients and explore the potential connection between TCM constitution and atherosclerotic diseases. In the study, we randomly recruited 10 hyperlipidemic patients with asthenic constitution (HAC), 10 hyperlipidemic patients with strong constitution (HSC), and 10 hyperlipidemic patients with normal constitution (HNC) and collected serum miRNA. After analyzing the miRNA expression profiles, we found that hsa-miR-338-3p may be a potential blood biomarker for the identification of the TCM constitution of hyperlipidemic patients. Moreover, the HSC classification is likely a cardiocerebrovascular disease predisposition and is closely related to the inflammatory process and glucose and lipid metabolism, which contribute to the development of atherosclerotic diseases.