title: miRNAs as therapeutic targets in ischemic heart disease.
abstract: Ischemic heart disease is a form of congestive heart failure that is caused by insufficient blood supply to the heart, resulting in a loss of viable tissue. In response to the injury, the non-ischemic myocardium displays signs of secondary remodeling, like interstitial fibrosis and hypertrophy of cardiac myocytes. This remodeling process further deteriorates pump function and increases susceptibility to arrhythmias. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression in a sequence-dependent manner. Recently, several groups identified miRNAs as crucial gene regulators in response to myocardial infarction (MI) and during post-MI remodeling. In this review, we discuss how modulation of these miRNAs represents a promising new therapeutic strategy to improve the clinical outcome in ischemic heart disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 6000 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA.
authors.forename: Robert J A
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Frost
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van Rooij
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005355:Fibrosis; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D020257:Ventricular Remodeling / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs