MicroRNAs in heart failure: Small molecules with major impact

Authors

  • Georgia Kalozoumi 1. Department of Pharmacology, Medical School, University of Athens, Greece
  • Magdi Yacoub 2. National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, UK 3. Qatar Cardiovascular Research Center (QCRC), Qatar Foundation, Qatar
  • Despina Sanoudou 1. Department of Pharmacology, Medical School, University of Athens, Greece 4. Department of Molecular Biology, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Greece

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as potent modulators of mammalian gene expression, thereby broadening the spectrum of molecular mechanisms orchestrating human physiological and pathological cellular functions. Growing evidence suggests that these small non-coding RNA molecules are pivotal regulators of cardiovascular development and disease. Importantly, multiple miRNAs have been specifically implicated in the onset and progression of heart failure, thus providing a new platform for battling this multi-faceted disease. This review introduces the basic concepts of miRNA biology, describes representative examples of miRNAs associated with multiple aspects of HF pathogenesis, and explores the prognostic, diagnostic and therapeutic potential of miRNAs in the cardiology clinic.

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Published

2017-06-28

Issue

Vol. 2014 No. 2 (2014)

Section

Review articles

License

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.