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Published on: July 14, 2021
Circular RNA regulatory role in pathological cardiac remodelling
Alessia Bibi1,2, Monika Bartekova3,4, Shrey Gandhi5,6
1Molecular Cardiology Laboratory, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, San Donato Milanese, Milan, Italy.
Insights
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are key regulators in heart failure development. Understanding circRNA functions in cardiac remodelling offers potential for new heart failure diagnostics and therapeutics.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Biology
- Molecular Genetics
- Non-coding RNA Research
Background:
- Cardiac remodelling, a process of structural and molecular changes in the heart post-injury, leads to heart failure.
- Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are emerging as critical regulators in cardiovascular disease pathogenesis, including heart failure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current knowledge on circRNA biology, focusing on their role in cardiac remodelling.
- To explore circRNA-based diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for heart failure.
Main Methods:
- Literature review synthesizing current research on circRNAs in cardiovascular disease.
- Discussion of bioinformatics and experimental methods for circRNA investigation.
- Highlighting circRNA regulatory functions in key cardiac remodelling pathways.
Main Results:
- CircRNAs play significant roles in cardiac cell death, hypertrophy, inflammation, fibrosis, and metabolism.
- The review details circRNA origin, conservation, characteristics, and functional mechanisms.
- Identified challenges and opportunities in circRNA research for heart failure.
Conclusions:
- A deeper understanding of circRNAs in cardiac remodelling is crucial for developing novel heart failure therapies.
- CircRNAs hold promise as potential therapeutic targets and biomarkers for heart failure.
- Future research should focus on the pharmacological potential of circRNAs.
Abstract:
Cardiac remodelling involves structural, cellular and molecular alterations in the heart after injury, resulting in progressive loss of heart function and ultimately leading to heart failure. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a recently rediscovered class of non-coding RNAs that play regulatory roles in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure. Thus, a more comprehensive understanding of the role of circRNAs in the processes governing cardiac remodelling may set the ground for the development of circRNA-based diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. In this review, the current knowledge about circRNA origin, conservation, characteristics and function is summarized. Bioinformatics and wet-lab methods used in circRNA research are discussed. The regulatory function of circRNAs in cardiac remodelling mechanisms such as cell death, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, inflammation, fibrosis and metabolism is highlighted. Finally, key challenges and opportunities in circRNA research are discussed, and orientations for future work to address the pharmacological potential of circRNAs in heart failure are proposed. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed issue Non-coding RNA Therapeutics. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v182.2/issuetoc.
