Fol. Biol. 2025, 71, 256-261
Low Statin Doses Have No Effect on Plasma Concentrations of cfDNA or Muscle-Specific miRNA
, Jaroslav A. Hubáček1,2, Kristýna Janoušková2, Dana Dlouhá2, Jiří Laštůvka3, Věra Adámková2
1Third Department of Medicine – Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and General University Hospital in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
2Experimental Medicine Centre, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic
3Krajská zdravotní a. s., Masaryk Hospital in Ústí nad Labem, Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic
Received December 3, 2025
Accepted January 7, 2026
Statins are the most commonly prescribed lipid-lowering drugs. Around 10 % of statin users develop one of statin-associated muscle syndromes (SAMS), ranging from mild myalgia to severe life-threatening rhabdomyolysis. So far, no reliable marker of SAMS has been identified. Plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA, of nuclear or mitochondrial origin) and microRNA (miRNA) are among the potential molecules that could reflect muscle changes induced by statins. Two groups of statin-treated subjects were included into our study. In an intensively screened branch, 15 males on 10 mg of rosuvastatin provided two samples before the treatment initiation, three subsequent at weeks 4, 8 and 12 on statin treatment, and one after four weeks of the wash-out period. The second branch included 29 subjects, with samples collected before the treatment and after 5–6 and 10–12 months of treatment. Plasma cfDNA of nuclear or mitochondrial origin and miRNAs 133a-3p, 23a-5p and 1-3p were analysed using qPCR. Plasma concentrations of cfnDNA, cfmtDNA or miRNAs did not change significantly during the statin treatment (all P values between 0.27–0.93). The release of cfDNA and miRNA is probably not significantly affected by low-dose statin therapy.
Funding
This study was supported by the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic in cooperation with the Czech Health Research Council under project No. NU21-01-00146.
References
Copyright
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.