Pathological microRNAs in acute cardiovascular diseases and microRNA therapeutics

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. In recent researches, it is demonstrated that microRNAs (miRNAs) are expressed extensively in cardiovascular system and regulate gene expression in various cardiovascular diseases. Here, we are giving overview on number of miRNAs involved in pathophysiology of various cardiovascular diseases, and diagnostic and therapeutic potentials of miRNAs in these diseases. MiRNAs are a group of small non-coding mRNAs with approximately 18–22 nucleotides in length that regulate gene expression post transcriptionally. MiRNAs are regulated in various cardiovascular diseases like hypertension, congestive heart failure, congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease and stroke. Some of these miRNAs also act as potential biomarker of these cardiovascular diseases. Inhibition of these miRNAs via different approaches like chemically modified antisense oligonucleotide, antagomirs, and locked nucleic acids serves as effective approaches for inactivating pathological miRNAs. Clinical trials are being conducted on therapeutic and diagnostic potentials of miRNAs. However, extensive researches are required to explore the therapeutic and diagnostic values of miRNAs as successful as classical approaches.

Keywords

• Non-protein coding RNAs
• Antisense oligonucleotide
• Hypertension