Elia Leonardo, Condorelli Gianluigi
Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, Via Manzoni 113, 20089 Rozzano, MI, Italy; Milan Unit, Institute of Genetic and Biomedical Research, Via Manzoni 113, 20089 Rozzano, MI, Italy.
Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, Via Manzoni 113, 20089 Rozzano, MI, Italy; Milan Unit, Institute of Genetic and Biomedical Research, Via Manzoni 113, 20089 Rozzano, MI, Italy; University of Milan, Via Manzoni 113, 20089 Rozzano, MI, Italy.
J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2015 Dec;89(Pt A):11-6. doi: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2015.07.012. Epub 2015 Jul 20.
Next-generation sequencing has greatly improved our knowledge of the mammalian transcriptome, identifying thousands of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), which are RNAs that rather than translate for proteins, have regulatory functions. Perhaps unsurprisingly, dysregulation of individual ncRNAs has been associated with the development of pathologies, including of the cardiovascular system. The best-characterized group of ncRNAs is represented by the short, highly conserved RNAs named microRNAs (miRNAs). This ncRNA species, which principally exerts an inhibitory action on gene expression, has been implicated in many cardiovascular diseases. Unfortunately, the complexity of action of other types of ncRNA, such as long ncRNAs, has somewhat hampered the study of their role in cardiovascular pathologies. A detailed characterization of the mechanism of action of these different ncRNA species would be conducive to a better understanding of the cellular processes underlying cardiovascular disease and may lead to the development of innovative therapeutic strategies. Here, we give an overview of the current knowledge on the function of ncRNAs and their roles in cardiovascular disease development, concentrating mainly on microRNAs and long ncRNAs.
新一代测序技术极大地增进了我们对哺乳动物转录组的了解，识别出了数千种非编码RNA（ncRNA），即那些不编码蛋白质而是具有调控功能的RNA。或许不足为奇的是，个别ncRNA的失调与包括心血管系统疾病在内的多种病理状况的发生发展相关。最具特征的ncRNA群体是一类名为微小RNA（miRNA）的短链、高度保守的RNA。这种主要对基因表达发挥抑制作用的ncRNA种类已被证实与多种心血管疾病有关。不幸的是，其他类型的ncRNA，如长链ncRNA，其作用机制的复杂性在一定程度上阻碍了对它们在心血管疾病中作用的研究。详细阐明这些不同ncRNA种类的作用机制将有助于更好地理解心血管疾病背后的细胞过程，并可能催生创新的治疗策略。在此，我们概述了目前关于ncRNA功能及其在心血管疾病发生发展中作用的知识，主要聚焦于微小RNA和长链ncRNA。
