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Updated: Dec 6, 2025
Tissue-specific miRNA Expression Profiling in Mouse Heart Sections Using In Situ Hybridization
Published on: September 15, 2018
MicroRNAs: roles in cardiovascular development and disease
Samira Kalayinia1, Fateme Arjmand2, Majid Maleki1
1Cardiogenetic Research Center, Rajaie Cardiovascular Medical and Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Insights
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key gene regulators involved in heart development and disease. Understanding their role is crucial for developing new diagnostics and therapeutics for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Cardiology
- Genetics
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain a leading global cause of mortality despite therapeutic advances.
- Gene and microRNA (miRNA) expression significantly influences cellular pathways and organism physiology.
- miRNAs are critical regulators of gene expression, impacting cellular pathways and disease onset, including CVDs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the fundamental aspects of microRNAs (miRNAs).
- To explore the role of miRNAs in cardiovascular disease (CVD) development and progression.
- To highlight the potential of miRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for CVDs.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of scientific publications on miRNAs and cardiovascular diseases.
- Analysis of miRNA biogenesis, processing, and functional mechanisms.
- Synthesis of evidence implicating miRNAs in cardiac development, remodeling, and pathology.
Main Results:
- miRNAs are expressed in the heart throughout development and adulthood.
- Aberrant miRNA expression or genetic deletion is linked to cardiac abnormalities and dysfunction.
- miRNAs play a significant role in the pathogenesis of various cardiovascular diseases.
Conclusions:
- MicroRNAs are integral to heart development and function.
- Dysregulated miRNAs are implicated in the progression of cardiovascular diseases.
- miRNAs represent promising avenues for future CVD diagnostics and therapeutics.
Abstract:
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) comprise a group of disorders ranging from peripheral artery, coronary artery, cardiac valve, cardiac muscle, and congenital heart diseases to arrhythmias and ultimately, heart failure. For all the advances in therapeutics, CVDs are still the leading cause of mortality the world over, hence the significance of a thorough understanding of CVDs at the molecular level. Disparities in the expressions of genes and microRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in the determination of the fate of cellular pathways, which ultimately affect an organism's physiology. Indeed, miRNAs serve as the regulators of gene expressions in that they perform key functions both in several important cellular pathways and in the regulation of the onset of various diseases such as CVDs. Many miRNAs are expressed in embryonic, postnatal, and adult hearts; their aberrant expression or genetic deletion is associated with abnormal cardiac cell differentiation, disruption in heart development, and cardiac dysfunction. A substantial body of evidence implicates miRNAs in CVD development and suggests them as diagnostic biomarkers and intriguing therapeutic tools. The present review provides an overview of the history, biogenesis, and processing of miRNAs, as well as their function in the development, remodeling, and diseases of the heart.
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