LONG NON CODING RNAS IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS IN HYPERTENSIVES WITH HEART FAILURE WITH PRESERVED EJECTION FRACTION AND THEIR RELATION TO THEIR FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY

Abstract

Objective: Objective: Long non coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as important components of regulatory networks underlying cardiovascular development and pathophysiology. They exhibit distinctive roles in modulating tissue-specific epigenomic states that are critical for the transcriptional and epigenetic reprogramming that underpins heart failure (HF) pathogenesis. Our aim was to assess gene expression levels of the lncRNAs CARMEN and FENDRR in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in hypertensive patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and to evaluate their association with their exercise capacity. Design and method: Methods: We included 45 patients with essential hypertension and HFpEF (mean age 67 ± 8 years). Twenty one hypertensive patients without HFpEF (mean age 65 ± 12 years) were also included as controls. All patients underwent a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPXT). PBMCs were isolated and lncRNAs’ expression levels were determined by quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction Results: Results: Patients with HFpEF showed significantly higher CARMEN (27.93 ± 5.68 versus 11.6 ± 4.8, p = 0.02) and FENDRR (45.72 ± 8.88 versus 16.01 ± 4.04, p = 0.01) expression levels compared with the control group. For hypertensive patients with HFpEF, strong positive correlations were observed between CARMEN expression levels in PBMCs and peakVO2 and (r = 0.46, p = 0.001), VE/VCO2 (r = 0.45, p = 0.002) as well as exercise duration (r = 0.427, p = 0.003). We also observed a weak but significant negative correlation between FENDRR expression levels in PBMCs and VE/VCO2 (r = -0.35, p = 0.02). Conclusions: Conclusions: Our data reveal that CARMEN and FENDRR expression levels in PBMCs of hypertensive patients with HFpEF may be related to their functional capacity. Further studies are needed to assess their role as therapeutic targets in those patients