Long Non-coding RNA H19 in Right Ventricular Failure associated with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Background: Right ventricular failure (RVF) is the major prognostic factor in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Recent Omics analyses have demonstrated the deregulation of several long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) in left heart failure, but their role in RVF remains unknown. The LncRNA H19 and its encoded miR-675 have been implicated in both cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis (2 features of RVF) but never been studied in RVF. Methods and Results: By qRT-PCR, we showed in human RV biopsies obtained from control donors, compensated RV hypertrophy patients (CRVH, Cardiac index > 2.2) and decompensated RV hypertrophy patients (DRVH, PAH patients that died from RVF), that H19 and miR-675 were specifically up-regulated (p Conclusions: We demonstrated for the first time that H19 is implicated in the transition from CRVH to DRVH in human RVF. Circulating H19 represents a putative biomarker of RV function in PAH patients.