Open AccessFrom life to death: microRNAs in the fine tuning of the heart
Author(s) -
Sayantan Nath,
Saliha Rizvi,
Manoj Kumar
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
microrna diagnostics and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2084-6843
DOI - 10.2478/micrnat-2014-0003
Subject(s) - microrna , disease , biology , untranslated region , bioinformatics , computational biology , neuroscience , messenger rna , medicine , gene , genetics
The heart is one of the most important vitalorgans, and any malfunctioning of the heart and itsblood vessels may contribute to cardiovascular disorders.Diseases of the cardiovascular system represent the mostcommon cause of human morbidity and mortality aroundthe globe. Thus, there is always a need for innovative newtherapies and diagnostics for cardiovascular disorders. Inthe past decades, a plethora of tiny, endogenous, singlestrandedRNA sequences called microRNAs (miRNAs) hasbeen studied meticulously in cardiovascular developmentand pathophysiology, providing a new dimension to theheart’s biology. miRNAs posttranscriptional inhibit thegene expression of specific mRNA targets through Watson–Crick base pairing between the miRNA “seed region”and the 3′ untranslated regions (UTRs) of target mRNAs.Better recognized as “master switches”, miRNAs areemerging as vital regulators of mammalian cardiovasculardevelopment and disease and thus are helpful inunderstanding therapeutic targets and diagnostics fora variety of cardiovascular disorders. In this review, adetailed discussion of the roles of various microRNAs incardiovascular development and pathophysiology withpotential therapeutics is considered