National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Pulmonary and Vascular Medicine Branch, Lipoprotein Metabolism Section, 10 Center Dr Msc 1666, Bldg.10, Rm 7N105, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2010 Apr;17(2):150-5. doi: 10.1097/MED.0b013e32833727a1.
MicroRNAs (miRNA) are mediators of post-transcriptional gene expression that likely regulate most biological pathways and networks. The study of miRNAs is a rapidly emerging field; recent findings have revealed a significant role for miRNAs in atherosclerosis and lipoprotein metabolism, which will be described in this review.
The discovery of miRNA gene regulatory mechanisms contributing to endothelial integrity, macrophage inflammatory response to atherogenic lipids, vascular smooth muscle-cell proliferation, and cholesterol synthesis are described. Furthermore, recent evidence suggests that miRNAs may play a role in mediating the beneficial pleiotropic effects observed with statin-based lipid-lowering therapies. New modifications to miRNA mimetics and inhibitors, increasing targeting efficacy and cellular uptake, will likely enable future therapies to exploit miRNA gene regulatory networks.
At this time, the applicability and full potential of miRNAs in clinical practice is unknown. Nonetheless, recent advances in miRNA delivery and inhibition hold great promise of a tremendous clinical impact in atherosclerosis and cholesterol regulation.
microRNAs（miRNA）是转录后基因表达的介质，可能调节大多数生物途径和网络。 miRNA 的研究是一个迅速发展的领域；最近的发现表明， miRNA 在动脉粥样硬化和脂蛋白代谢中具有重要作用，本文将对此进行描述。
描述了 miRNA 基因调控机制对内皮完整性、致动脉粥样脂质诱导的巨噬细胞炎症反应、血管平滑肌细胞增殖和胆固醇合成的贡献。此外，最近的证据表明， miRNA 可能在介导他汀类药物降低血脂治疗观察到的有益的多效性效应中发挥作用。 miRNA 模拟物和抑制剂的新修饰，提高了靶向效率和细胞摄取，可能使未来的治疗方法能够利用 miRNA 基因调控网络。
目前， miRNA 在临床实践中的适用性和全部潜力尚不清楚。尽管如此， miRNA 传递和抑制方面的最新进展有望在动脉粥样硬化和胆固醇调节方面产生巨大的临床影响。
