Song Juhyun, Kim Young-Kook
Department of Anatomy, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun 58128, Jeollanam-do, Republic of Korea.
Department of Biochemistry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun 58128, Jeollanam-do, Republic of Korea.
Mol Ther Nucleic Acids. 2021 Mar 1;24:284-293. doi: 10.1016/j.omtn.2021.02.031. eCollection 2021 Jun 4.
Maintaining visual function is key to establishing improved longevity. However, the numbers of patients with diseases of the retina, the most important tissue for vision and the key to age-related blindness, are not declining due to the increase in the number of aging subjects worldwide and the technological advances in the delivery of premature infants. The primary treatment option for retinal diseases is still surgical intervention and includes laser or photocoagulation, which are associated with various complications and side effects. Many aspects of the pathogenesis of these retinal diseases are still unknown, thereby impeding drug discovery. This has led to an increase in the number of studies focused on the underlying pathogenic mechanisms of retinal diseases. Growing evidence suggests that non-coding RNAs play critical roles in the pathogenesis of retinal diseases. Herein, we have summarized the known functional roles of non-coding RNAs, emphasizing their contribution to the underlying pathogenesis of retinal diseases. In addition, we discuss the modulation of non-coding RNAs as potential therapeutics and the methods to control the non-coding RNAs for the treatment. We expect that targeting non-coding RNAs could be crucial for developing novel therapeutics for progressive diseases including diseases of the retina.
维持视觉功能是延长寿命的关键。然而，视网膜疾病患者的数量并未减少，视网膜是视觉最重要的组织，也是与年龄相关失明的关键所在，这是由于全球老龄化人口数量的增加以及早产儿护理技术的进步。视网膜疾病的主要治疗选择仍然是手术干预，包括激光或光凝治疗，这些治疗会引发各种并发症和副作用。这些视网膜疾病发病机制的许多方面仍然未知，从而阻碍了药物研发。这导致了越来越多的研究聚焦于视网膜疾病的潜在致病机制。越来越多的证据表明，非编码RNA在视网膜疾病的发病机制中起着关键作用。在此，我们总结了非编码RNA已知的功能作用，强调了它们对视网膜疾病潜在发病机制的贡献。此外，我们讨论了将非编码RNA作为潜在治疗手段的调控方法以及用于治疗的控制非编码RNA的方法。我们预计，针对非编码RNA可能对开发包括视网膜疾病在内的进行性疾病的新型治疗方法至关重要。
