Nanoudis Sideris, Pikilidou Maria, Yavropoulou Maria, Zebekakis Pantelis
Hypertension Excellence Center, 1st Department of Internal Medicine, AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Front Genet. 2017 Dec 12;8:209. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2017.00209. eCollection 2017.
Arterial stiffness is an independent risk factor for fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, such as systolic hypertension, coronary artery disease, stroke, and heart failure. Moreover it reflects arterial aging which in many cases does not coincide with chronological aging, a fact that is in large attributed to genetic factors. In addition to genetic factors, seem to largely affect arterial aging either by advancing or by regressing arterial stiffness. MiRNAs are small RNA molecules, ~22 nucleotides long that can negatively control their target gene expression posttranscriptionally. Pathways that affect main components of stiffness such as fibrosis and calcification seem to be influenced by up or downregulation of specific miRNAs. Identification of this aberrant production of miRNAs can help identify epigenetic changes that can be therapeutic targets for prevention and treatment of vascular diseases. The present review summarizes the specific role of the so far discovered miRNAs that are involved in pathways of arterial stiffness.
动脉僵硬度是致死性和非致死性心血管事件的独立危险因素，如收缩期高血压、冠状动脉疾病、中风和心力衰竭。此外，它反映了动脉衰老，而在许多情况下，动脉衰老与实际年龄并不一致，这一事实在很大程度上归因于遗传因素。除遗传因素外，某些因素似乎通过促进或逆转动脉僵硬度在很大程度上影响动脉衰老。微小RNA（miRNA）是长度约为22个核苷酸的小RNA分子，可在转录后对其靶基因表达进行负调控。影响僵硬度主要成分（如纤维化和钙化）的途径似乎受特定miRNA上调或下调的影响。鉴定miRNA的这种异常产生有助于识别可作为预防和治疗血管疾病治疗靶点的表观遗传变化。本综述总结了迄今为止发现的参与动脉僵硬度途径的miRNA的具体作用。
