A Novel Circulating Noncoding Small RNA for the Detection of Acute Myocarditis

This original research article identifies a novel circulating noncoding RNA, hsa-Chr8:96, as a biomarker for the diagnosis of acute myocarditis. Using murine models and human cohorts, the study demonstrates that Th17 cells central to myocarditis pathology synthesize the mouse homolog mmu-miR-721 during autoimmune and viral myocarditis. A human homolog with high sequence similarity, hsa-Chr8:96, was cloned from patient plasma and shown to be strongly associated with myocarditis, but not myocardial infarction or healthy states. Coimmunoprecipitation and luciferase assays suggest functional activity. Across four independent patient cohorts, hsa-Chr8:96 yielded ROC curve AUCs ≥0.83, indicating high diagnostic accuracy even after adjusting for troponin levels, ejection fraction, age, and sex. The findings highlight hsa-Chr8:96 as a potential noninvasive tool for differentiating myocarditis from other cardiac conditions, offering diagnostic value where biopsy or MRI may be unavailable.

This original research article identifies a novel circulating noncoding RNA, hsa-Chr8:96, as a biomarker for the diagnosis of acute myocarditis. Using murine models and human cohorts, the study demonstrates that Th17 cells central to myocarditis pathology synthesize the mouse homolog mmu-miR-721 during autoimmune and viral myocarditis. A human homolog with high sequence similarity, hsa-Chr8:96, was cloned from patient plasma and shown to be strongly associated with myocarditis, but not myocardial infarction or healthy states. Coimmunoprecipitation and luciferase assays suggest functional activity. Across four independent patient cohorts, hsa-Chr8:96 yielded ROC curve AUCs ≥0.83, indicating high diagnostic accuracy even after adjusting for troponin levels, ejection fraction, age, and sex. The findings highlight hsa-Chr8:96 as a potential noninvasive tool for differentiating myocarditis from other cardiac conditions, offering diagnostic value where biopsy or MRI may be unavailable.