miR-208
rnamiR-208 is a cardiac-specific microRNA released early in myocardial infarction that serves as a sensitive indicator of cardiomyocyte damage.
Pathway placement
Cascade stepMyocardial injury (shared endpoint)
Confidencehigh
RationaleCardiac-restricted microRNA; early and sensitive indicator of cardiomyocyte injury.
Druggability
Not assessed (no mapped human gene target).
Assay & specimen
Class-level default (no specific cleared assay)— generic method inferred from analyte class; confirm against a specific product insert before use.
Specimen
Whole blood or cell-free plasma
Collection tube
PAXgene/Tempus RNA tube · K2/K3-EDTA (lavender-top)
Method / principle
RT-qPCR (TaqMan) or small-RNA sequencing
Reagent / substrate
Target-specific primers/probe; reverse transcriptase (miRNA: stem-loop RT primer)
Platform
qPCR instrument / NGS
Turnaround · availability
Research / send-out · Research (few LDTs)
Literature evidence(3)
- Advancements in Biomarkers for Early Detection and Risk Stratification of Cardiovascular Diseases-A Literature Review.Health science reports · 2025 · PMID 40432692 · doi
- Copeptin, miRNA-208, and miRNA-499 as New Biomarkers for Early Detection of Acute Coronary Syndrome.Applied biochemistry and biotechnology · 2021 · PMID 34637111 · doi
- MicroRNA208 family in cardiovascular diseases: therapeutic implication and potential biomarker.Journal of physiology and biochemistry · 2015 · PMID 25840809 · doi