Research progress of microRNAs in cardiovascular biology and cardiovascular diseases

Cardiovascular disease is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Human deaths caused by cardiovascular disease account for about 30% of all deaths worldwide. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs which exert a wide range of biological effects through regulating the transcription of target mRNA or inducing silence of target genes at the post transcriptional level. Recently, a number of researches indicate that miRNAs are ubiquitously expressed in mammalian cardiovascular system and play critical roles in a variety of pathological processes of cardiovascular diseases, including cardiac remodeling, ischemic heart disease and arrhythmia. The wide roles of miRNAs in cardiovascular diseases provide new sights into illuminating the pathogenesis and novel targets for the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.