1st Cardiology Unit, Hippokration Hospital, Athens University Medical School, Athens, Greece.
Curr Top Med Chem. 2013;13(13):1518-26. doi: 10.2174/15680266113139990100.
Endothelial dysfunction reflected by reduced nitric oxide availability is nowadays considered as a causative factor of atherosclerosis. A variety of biomarkers has been used as indicators of endothelial dysfunction in cardiovascular disease. Discovered just over a decade ago, microRNAs have evoked a great deal of interest, due to their importance for many aspects of homeostasis and disease. miRNAs comprise a novel class of endogenous, single-stranded, short RNA sequences able to regulate gene expression by binding to complementary sequences on mRNAs According to a growing body of evidence, they have been implicated in the regulation of several human physiological processes. They have been shown to participate in cardiovascular disease pathogenesis including atherosclerosis and endothelial dysfunction and this may have important clinical implications.
内皮功能障碍反映了一氧化氮的减少，这被认为是动脉粥样硬化的一个致病因素。在心血管疾病中，已经有多种生物标志物被用作内皮功能障碍的指标。微小 RNA（miRNA）在十多年前被发现，由于它们对许多内稳态和疾病方面的重要性，引起了极大的关注。miRNA 是一类新的内源性、单链、短 RNA 序列，能够通过与 mRNAs 上的互补序列结合来调节基因表达。越来越多的证据表明，它们参与了几种人类生理过程的调节。已经证明它们参与了包括动脉粥样硬化和内皮功能障碍在内的心血管疾病的发病机制，这可能具有重要的临床意义。
