MicroRNAs and cardiovascular diseases

• Published in: The FEBS journal Vol. 278; no. 10; pp. 1619 - 1633
• Main Authors: Ono, Koh, Kuwabara, Yasuhide, Han, Jiahuai
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2011
• Subjects: angiogenesis; Animals; arrhythmia; Arrhythmias, Cardiac - physiopathology; cardiac development; cardiac diseases; Cardiomegaly - genetics; Cardiomegaly - physiopathology; Cardiovascular disease; cardiovascular diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases - genetics; cardiovascular system; DEAD-box RNA Helicases - genetics; Fibrosis; Gene expression; Heart - embryology; Heart Diseases - metabolism; heart failure; Heart Failure - genetics; Humans; hypertrophy; metabolic syndrome; Metabolic Syndrome - physiopathology; Mice; microRNA; MicroRNAs - physiology; myocardial infarction; Myocardial Infarction - genetics; Myocardium - pathology; Neovascularization, Physiologic - physiology; non-coding RNA; physiological functions; Proteins - genetics; regulator genes; Ribonuclease III - genetics; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; RNA-Binding Proteins
• ISSN: 1742-464X; 1742-4658; 1742-4658
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2011.08090.x

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs that have gained status as important regulators of gene expression. Recent studies have demonstrated that miRNAs are aberrantly expressed in the cardiovascular system under some pathological conditions. Gain- and loss-of-function studies using in vitro and in vivo models have revealed distinct roles for specific miRNAs in cardiovascular development and physiological function. The implications of miRNAs in cardiovascular disease have recently been recognized, representing the most rapidly evolving research field. In the present minireview, the current relevant findings on the role of miRNAs in cardiac diseases are updated and the target genes of these miRNAs are summarized.