In this study, we evaluated the potential of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) derived long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) as biomarkers for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). To assess the value of PBMCs-derived lncRNAs levels in predicting clinical outcomes in AMI. We measured the PBMC-derived levels of 10 individual lncRNAs which are known to be relevant to cardiovascular disease in PBMCs from 132 AMI patients and 104 healthy participants using quantitative RT-PCR. For AMI group, blood sample were obtained from patients after the onset of AMI. Out of the 10 lncRNAs tested, the mRNA level of lncRNA H19, MIAT and MALAT1 were significantly higher in AMI patients than in healthy control (2.3 ± 0.2 vs. 1.0 ± 0.1, p < 0.001, 1.5±0.1 vs. 1.0±0.1, p = 0.002, 1.8±0.2 vs. 1.0±0.1, p < 0.001, respectively). Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses showed that PBMC-derived H19 had significant diagnostic value for AMI (AUC, 0.753; 95% CI, 0.689˜0.817).

Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that H19 as a dangerous risk for AMI (OR = 2.498, 95% CI, 1.321–4.726, p = 0.005). In addition, the lncRNA H19 alteration was inversely associated with a number of cardiovascular protective factors, and positively associated with cardiovascular risk factors, such as high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (r=-0.198, p = 0.010), lipoprotein A (r=-0.153, p = 0.049), white blood cell counting (r=0.301, p < 0.001) and cardiac ejection fraction (r=-0.157, p = 0.042). Moreover, lncRNA H19 was positively correlated with cardiac biomarkers, i.e. troponinT (r=0.344,p < 0.001), CK (r=0.261, p = 0.001) and CKMB (r=0.24, p = 0.002).

Hence, elevated expression level of PBMC-derived H19, MIAT and MALAT1 may be considered as novel biomarkers of AMI.