Non-coding RNAs in cardiovascular ageing

The increasing burden of ageing populations and their healthcare expenditure is a major challenge worldwide. Ageing is a complex disorder and can be defined as progressive decline in function with time leading to increased incidence of various cardiovascular, neurological and immunological diseases. The human genome comprises of many protein coding and even more non-coding RNA genes. MicroRNAs, a class of non-coding RNA, regulate the expression of multiple messenger RNAs post-transcriptionally and are reported to be involved in crucial aspects of cell biology encompassing ageing. Recently, several studies have reported the regulation of microRNAs with ageing and microRNAs like miR-34 have emerged as critical regulator of ageing extending from Caenorhabditis elegans to mammals. Here, we summarize the reported role of microRNAs as well as long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the process of ageing with a special emphasis on cardiovascular ageing.