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(Circulation Research. 2008;103:919.)
© 2008 American Heart Association, Inc.

Reviews

Toward MicroRNA–Based Therapeutics for Heart Disease

The Sense in Antisense

Eva van Rooij, William S. Marshall, Eric N. Olson

From the Department of Molecular Biology (E.v.R., E.N.O.), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas; and miRagen Therapeutics (W.S.M.), Boulder, Colo.

Correspondence to Eric N. Olson, Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 6000 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX 75390-9148. E-mail eric.olson{at}utsouthwestern.edu

This Review is part of a thematic series on MicroRNAs and Heart Disease, which includes the following articles:

Toward MicroRNA-Based Therapeutics for Heart Disease: The Sense in Antisense

The Emerging Role of MicroRNAs in Cardiac Remodeling and Heart Failure

Role of MicroRNAs in Cardiac Development

MicroRNAs and Angiogenesis
Eric N. Olson Guest Editor

MicroRNAs act as negative regulators of gene expression by inhibiting the translation or promoting the degradation of target mRNAs. Because individual microRNAs often regulate the expression of multiple target genes with related functions, modulating the expression of a single microRNA can, in principle, influence an entire gene network and thereby modify complex disease phenotypes. Recent studies have identified signature expression patterns of microRNAs associated with pathological cardiac hypertrophy, heart failure, and myocardial infarction in humans and mouse models of heart disease. Gain- and loss-of-function studies in mice have revealed profound and unexpected functions for these microRNAs in numerous facets of cardiac biology, including the control of myocyte growth, contractility, fibrosis, and angiogenesis, providing glimpses of new regulatory mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets for heart disease. Especially intriguing is the discovery of a network of muscle-specific microRNAs embedded within myosin heavy chain genes, which control myosin expression and the response of the heart to stress and thyroid hormone signaling. Disease-inducing cardiac microRNAs can be persistently silenced in vivo through systemic delivery of antimiRs, allowing for the direct therapeutic modulation of disease mechanisms. Here, we summarize current knowledge of the roles of miRNAs in heart disease and consider the advantages and potential challenges of microRNA–based approaches compared to conventional drug-based therapies.

Key Words: microRNA • heart disease • remodeling • miRNA-based therapy

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