Division of Medical Engineering Research, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli 350, Taiwan.
J Biomed Sci. 2012 Aug 29;19(1):79. doi: 10.1186/1423-0127-19-79.
Atherosclerosis is commonly appreciated to represent a chronic inflammatory response of the vascular wall, and its complications cause high mortality in patients. Angioplasty with stent replacement is commonly performed in patients with atherosclerotic disease. However, the restenosis usually has a high incidence rate in angioplasty patients. Although the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying atherosclerosis and restenosis have been well established, new signaling molecules that control the progress of these pathologies have continuously been discovered. MicroRNAs (miRs) have recently emerged as a novel class of gene regulators that work via transcriptional degradation and translational inhibition or activation. Over 30% of genes in the cell can be directly regulated by miRs. Thus, miRs are recognized as crucial regulators in normal development, physiology and pathogenesis. Alterations of miR expression profiles have been revealed in diverse vascular diseases. A variety of functions of vascular cells, such as cell differentiation, contraction, migration, proliferation and inflammation that are involved in angiogenesis, neointimal formation and lipid metabolism underlying various vascular diseases, have been found to be regulated by miRs. This review summarizes current research progress and knowledge on the roles of miRs in regulating vascular cell function in atherosclerosis and restenosis. These discoveries are expected to present opportunities for clinical diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in vascular diseases resulting from atherosclerosis and restenosis.
动脉粥样硬化通常被认为代表血管壁的慢性炎症反应，其并发症导致患者死亡率高。血管成形术伴支架置换术常用于动脉粥样硬化疾病患者。然而，血管成形术后再狭窄的发生率通常很高。尽管动脉粥样硬化和再狭窄的病理生理机制已经得到很好的确立，但控制这些病理进展的新信号分子不断被发现。微小 RNA（miRs）最近被认为是一类新型的基因调控因子，通过转录降解和翻译抑制或激活发挥作用。细胞中超过 30%的基因可以直接被 miRs 调控。因此，miRs 被认为是正常发育、生理和发病机制中的重要调控因子。在多种血管疾病中已经揭示了 miR 表达谱的改变。miRs 调节了各种血管疾病中涉及血管生成、新生内膜形成和脂质代谢的血管细胞的多种功能，如细胞分化、收缩、迁移、增殖和炎症。本综述总结了目前关于 miR 在调节动脉粥样硬化和再狭窄中血管细胞功能方面的作用的研究进展和知识。这些发现有望为动脉粥样硬化和再狭窄引起的血管疾病的临床诊断和治疗方法提供机会。
