1st Dept. of Cardiology, Hippokration Hospital, Medical School, University of Athens, Greece.
Curr Top Med Chem. 2013;13(13):1559-72. doi: 10.2174/15680266113139990105.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding RNAs of ~22 nucleotides which act as down regulators of gene expression in the post-transcription level and/or in the translation level. Several studies have shown that the process of their maturation is rather crucial for the development of cardiovascular system thus their regulation (up-,down-) is implicated with many cardiac pathologies. This is evaluated through their circulating levels which are reliable, stable and the changes in their serum profiles are representative of tissue alterations serum levels. Furthermore, they have been shown to participate in cardiovascular disease pathogenesis including atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, heart failure cardiac arrhythmias and aortic stenosis. In the present review, we will first describe i) the process of miRNAs' maturation ii) their role in the cardiovascular development, iii) their role as biomarkers of cardiac diseases, iv) the cardiac myo-miR families and the v) their role in cardiac remodeling and the development of cardiac diseases. Second we will review the miRNA families that participate in aortic stenosis separated according to its main pathways (imflammation, fibrosis, calcification). Finally, we will describe the miRNAs that participate in the development of aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection according to their serum levels.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) 是长度为 22 个核苷酸的非编码 RNA，作为基因表达的转录后和/或翻译水平的下调因子。多项研究表明，其成熟过程对于心血管系统的发育至关重要，因此它们的调节（上调、下调）与许多心脏病理学有关。这可以通过其循环水平来评估，这些水平可靠且稳定，其血清谱的变化代表了组织改变。此外，它们已被证明参与了包括动脉粥样硬化、冠状动脉疾病、心肌梗死、心力衰竭、心律失常和主动脉瓣狭窄在内的心血管疾病的发病机制。在本综述中，我们将首先描述：i）miRNAs 成熟的过程；ii）它们在心血管发育中的作用；iii）它们作为心脏疾病生物标志物的作用；iv）心肌中的 miR 家族；v）它们在心脏重构和心脏疾病发展中的作用。其次，我们将根据其主要途径（炎症、纤维化、钙化），按参与主动脉瓣狭窄的 miRNA 家族进行综述。最后，我们将根据其血清水平描述参与主动脉瘤和主动脉夹层形成的 miRNAs。
