Biogenesis and mechanism of action of MicroRNAs as serum biomarkers in cardiovascular diseases

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of mortality and morbidity in the world today, which forces the continuous progress in early diagnosis and treatment strategies in order to improve the prognosis and decrease mortality. Undoubtedly this opens the doors to the field of research and in recent years there are the so-called serum biomarkers and among them microRNAs (miRNAs) that play a fundamental role both in the development and in the regulation of the cardiovascular system. The microRNAs are 19 to 25 nucleotides in size, they are the small group of RNA that has attracted the most attention in recent years. To date, approximately 2,500 miRNAs have been identified in the human genome. The miRNAs play a role in the regulation of various biological processes, such as embryogenesis, cell proliferation and differentiation, apoptosis or oncogenesis. In the cardiovascular system, miRNAs control the growth and contractility of cardiomyocytes, the development and maintenance of heart rhythm, the formation of atherosclerotic plaque, lipid metabolism and angiogenesis. They are also linked in the pathophysiology of several cardiovascular diseases, mainly heart failure, myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis, and cardiomyopathies of various etiologies, hence their determination in circulation could be useful in clinical practice as a potential biomarker in the diagnosis and prognosis of cardiovascular diseases.