PS214. Agreement of Repeatability Coefficients for Within-Subject Carotid Artery Velocities with Snoring Application

Abstract

Objectives: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are dynamically expressed during development and possess binding sites for microRNAs (miRs), small RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression. We recently demonstrated that miR-221, which is associated with vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation and inhibition of apoptosis, is decreased in acutely symptomatic carotid plaques. Because circRNA-16 possesses binding sites for miR-221 through seed sequences found within, we hypothesized that circRNA-16 is increased in acutely symptomatic carotid plaques. Methods: Relative changes in gene expression levels of circRNA-16 were compared using a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay and the DDCt method. All samples were run in duplicate; mean and standard error were calculated. One-way analysis of variance with the Tukey test was used to determine significance between groups. Results: Expression of circRNA-16 was confirmed in human VSMC using PCR and resistance to RNAse H. To investigate its role in carotid plaque rupture, levels of circRNA-16 were quantified in patients undergoing urgent carotid endarterectomy for acute neurologic symptoms (n 1⁄4 27), compared with asymptomatic carotid plaques (n 1⁄4 19). In contrast to miR-221, circRNA-16 is increased in the urgent group compared