The role of physical activity and miRNAs in the vascular aging and cardiac health of dialysis patients

Abstract

Cardiovascular comorbidities are independent risk factors for mortality in dialysis patients. MicroRNA signaling has an important role in vascular aging and cardiac health, while physical activity is a primary nonpharmacologic treatment for cardiovascular comorbidities in dialysis patients. To identify the relationships between muscle function, miRNA signaling pathways, the presence of vascular calcifications and the severity of cardiovascular comorbidities, we initially enrolled 90 subjects on hemodialysis therapy and collected complete data from 46 subjects. A group of 26 subjects inactiv group (INC) was monitored during 12 weeks of physical inactivity and another group of 20 patients exercise group (EXC) was followed during 12 weeks of intradialytic, moderate intensity, resistance training intervention applied three times per week. In both groups, we assessed the expression levels of myo-miRNAs, proteins, and muscle function (MF) before and after the 12-week period. Data on the presence of vascular calcifications and the severity of cardiac comorbidities were collected from the patients’ EuCliD® records. Using a full structural equitation modelling of the total study sample, we found that the higher the increase in MF was observed in patients, the higher the probability of a decrease in the expression of miR-206 and TRIM63 and the lower severity of cardiac comorbidities. A reduced structural model in INC patients showed that the higher the decrease in MF, the higher the probability of the presence of calcifications and the higher severity of cardiac comorbidities. In EXC patients, we found that the higher the increase in MF, the lower the probability of higher severity of cardiovascular comorbidities.