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Unlocking the Door to New Therapies in Cardiovascular Disease: MicroRNAs Hold the Key

  • Cardiovascular Genomics (R McPherson, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

MicroRNAs are the most abundant class of regulatory noncoding RNA and are estimated to regulate over half of all human protein-coding genes. The heart is comprised of some of the most complex and highly conserved genetic networks and is thus under tight regulation by post-transcriptional mechanisms. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been found to regulate virtually all aspects of cardiac physiology and pathophysiology, from the development of inflammatory atherosclerosis to hypertrophic remodeling in heart failure. Owing to the wide-spread involvement of miRNAs in the development of and protection from many diseases, there has been increasing excitement surrounding their potential as novel therapeutic targets to treat and prevent the worldwide epidemic of cardiovascular disease.

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My-Anh Nguyen, Denuja Karunakaran, and Katey J. Rayner declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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  1. Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    My-Anh Nguyen, Denuja Karunakaran & Katey J Rayner

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  1. My-Anh Nguyen
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  2. Denuja Karunakaran
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Correspondence to Katey J Rayner.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Cardiovascular Genomics

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Nguyen, MA., Karunakaran, D. & Rayner, K.J. Unlocking the Door to New Therapies in Cardiovascular Disease: MicroRNAs Hold the Key. Curr Cardiol Rep 16, 539 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-014-0539-7

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