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MicroRNA regulation of cholesterol metabolism
Author(s) -
Citrin Kathryn M.,
FernándezHernando Carlos,
Suárez Yajaira
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/nyas.14566
Subject(s) - microrna , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , cholesterol , cell type , homeostasis , regulation of gene expression , cell , gene expression , lipid metabolism , bioinformatics , gene , genetics , endocrinology
MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level. Since many microRNAs have multiple mRNA targets, they are uniquely positioned to regulate the expression of several molecules and pathways simultaneously. For example, the multiple stages of cholesterol metabolism are heavily influenced by microRNA activity. Understanding the scope of microRNAs that control this pathway is highly relevant to diseases of perturbed cholesterol metabolism, most notably cardiovascular disease (CVD). Atherosclerosis is a common cause of CVD that involves inflammation and the accumulation of cholesterol‐laden cells in the arterial wall. However, several different cell types participate in atherosclerosis, and perturbations in cholesterol homeostasis may have unique effects on the specialized functions of these various cell types. Therefore, our review discusses the current knowledge of microRNA‐mediated control of cholesterol homeostasis, followed by speculation as to how these microRNA–mRNA target interactions might have distinctive effects on different cell types that participate in atherosclerosis.