"ApoptomiRs" in vascular cells: their role in physiological and pathological angiogenesis

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as crucial players regulating the magnitude of gene expression in a variety of organisms. This class of short (22 nucleotides) noncoding RNA molecules have been shown to participate in almost every cellular process investigated so far, and their deregulation is observed in different human pathologies including cancer, heart disease, and neurodegeneration. These new molecular regulators have been identified also in endothelial cells (ECs), and their role in the regulation of different aspects of the angiogenic process has been recently investigated in a variety of laboratories. The current review focuses on the research progress regarding the roles of miRNAs in vascular pathology and their potential therapeutic applications for vascular diseases associated with abnormal angiogenesis, such as cancer.