Plasma miR-142 accounting for the missing heritability of CYP3A4/5 functionality is associated with pharmacokinetics of clopidogrel

Aim: To investigate whether plasma miRNAs targeting CYP3A4/5 have an impact on the variance of pharmacokinetics of clopidogrel. Materials & methods: The contribution of 13 miRNAs to the CYP3A4/5 gene expression and activity was investigated in 55 liver tissues. The association between plasma miRNAs targeting CYP3A4/5 mRNA and clopidogrel pharmacokinetics was analyzed in 31 patients with coronary heart disease who received 300 mg loading dose of clopidogrel. Results: Among 13 miRNAs, miR-142 was accounting for 12.2% (p = 0.002) CYP3A4 mRNA variance and 9.4% (p = 0.005) CYP3A5 mRNA variance, respectively. Plasma miR-142 was negatively associated with H4 Cmax (r = -0.5269; p = 0.0040) and associated with H4 AUC0–4h (r = -0.4986; p = 0.0069) after 300 mg loading dose of clopidogrel in coronary heart disease patients. Conclusion: miR-142 could account for a part of missing heritability of CYP3A4/5 functionality related to clopidogrel activation.