Title:MicroRNAs in Aortic Disease
Volume: 13
Issue: 13
Author(s): Manolis Vavuranakis, Maria Kariori, Dimitrios Vrachatis, Konstantinos Aznaouridis, Gerasimos Siasos, Eleni Kokkou, Savvas Mazaris, Carmen Moldovan, Konstantinos Kalogeras, Dimitris Tousoulis and Christodoulos Stefanadis
Affiliation:
Keywords:
microRNAs, aortic disease, aortic stenosis, aortic dissection, aortic aneurysm.
Abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding RNAs of ~22 nucleotides which act as down regulators of gene expression
in the post-transcription level and/or in the translation level. Several studies have shown that the process of their
maturation is rather crucial for the development of cardiovascular system thus their regulation (up-,down-) is implicated
with many cardiac pathologies. This is evaluated through their circulating levels which are reliable, stable and the changes
in their serum profiles are representative of tissue alterations serum levels. Furthermore, they have been shown to participate
in cardiovascular disease pathogenesis including atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, heart
failure cardiac arrhythmias and aortic stenosis. In the present review, we will first describe i) the process of miRNAs’
maturation ii) their role in the cardiovascular development, iii) their role as biomarkers of cardiac diseases, iv) the cardiac
myo-miR families and the v) their role in cardiac remodeling and the development of cardiac diseases. Second we will review
the miRNA families that participate in aortic stenosis separated according to its main pathways (imflammation, fibrosis,
calcification). Finally, we will describe the miRNAs that participate in the development of aortic aneurysm and
aortic dissection according to their serum levels.