The Role of MicroRNAs in Myocardial Infarction: From Molecular Mechanism to Clinical Application

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 18; no. 4; p. 745
• Main Authors: Sun, Teng, Dong, Yan-Han, Du, Wei, Shi, Chun-Ying, Wang, Kun, Tariq, Muhammad-Akram, Wang, Jian-Xun, Li, Pei-Feng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 31.03.2017; MDPI
• Subjects: Animals; Apoptosis; cardiomyocyte regeneration; Cardiomyocytes; Cell death; clinical application; Gene Expression Regulation; Heart attacks; Heart Failure - diagnosis; Heart Failure - genetics; Heart Failure - therapy; Humans; MicroRNAs; MicroRNAs - genetics; Models, Cardiovascular; Models, Genetic; myocardial cell death; Myocardial infarction; Myocardial Infarction - diagnosis; Myocardial Infarction - genetics; Myocardial Infarction - therapy; Myocytes, Cardiac - metabolism; Myocytes, Cardiac - pathology; Necrosis; Review; Translational Medical Research - methods; Translational Medical Research - trends; microRNAs; cardiomyocyte regeneration; clinical application; myocardial cell death; myocardial infarction
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms18040745

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small single-stranded and highly conserved non-coding RNAs, which are closely linked to cardiac disorders such as myocardial infarction (MI), cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, and heart failure. A growing number of studies have demonstrated that miRNAs determine the fate of the heart by regulating cardiac cell death and regeneration after MI. A deep understanding of the pathophysiology of miRNA dependent regulatory pathways in these processes is required. The role of miRNAs as diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic targets also needs to be explored in order to utilize them in clinical settings. This review summarizes the role of miRNAs in myocardial infarction and focuses mainly on their influence on cardiomyocyte regeneration and cell death including apoptosis, necrosis, and autophagy. In addition, the targets of pro- and anti-MI miRNAs are comparatively described. In particular, the possibilities of miRNA-based diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for myocardial infarction are discussed in this review.