Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
Cardiomics Unit, Centro de Cardiologia da Universidade de Lisboa (CCUL), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2020;1229:49-64. doi: 10.1007/978-981-15-1671-9_2.
The transcriptional complexity generated by the human genomic output is within the core of cell and organ physiology, but also could be in the origin of pathologies. In cardiovascular diseases, the role of specific families of RNA transcripts belonging to the group of the non-coding RNAs started to be unveiled in the last two decades. The knowledge of the functional rules and roles of non-coding RNAs in the context of cardiovascular diseases is an important factor to derive new diagnostic methods, but also to design targeted therapeutic strategies. The characterization and analysis of ncRNA function requires a deep knowledge of the regulatory mechanism of these RNA species that often relies on intricated interaction networks. The use of specific bioinformatic tools to interrogate biological data and to derive functional implications is particularly relevant and needs to be extended to the general practice of translational researchers. This chapter briefly summarizes the bioinformatic tools and strategies that could be used for the characterization and functional analysis of non-coding RNAs, with special emphasis in their applications to the cardiovascular field.
人类基因组输出所产生的转录复杂性是细胞和器官生理学的核心，但也可能是病理学的起源。在心血管疾病中，属于非编码 RNA 组的特定 RNA 转录本家族的作用在过去二十年中开始被揭示。了解非编码 RNA 在心血管疾病背景下的功能规则和作用是衍生新的诊断方法的重要因素，也是设计靶向治疗策略的重要因素。ncRNA 功能的表征和分析需要深入了解这些 RNA 物种的调节机制，这些机制通常依赖于错综复杂的相互作用网络。使用特定的生物信息学工具来探究生物数据并得出功能意义特别重要，并且需要扩展到转化研究人员的一般实践中。本章简要总结了可用于非编码 RNA 的表征和功能分析的生物信息学工具和策略，特别强调了它们在心血管领域的应用。
