The magic and mystery of microRNA-27 in atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis (As) is now widely appreciated to represent a chronic inflammatory reaction of the vascular wall in response to dyslipidemia and endothelial distress involving the inflammatory recruitment of leukocytes and the activation of resident vascular cells. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of endogenous, small (~22 nucleotides in length) non-coding RNA molecules, which function specifically by base pairing with mRNA of genes, thereby induce translation repressions of the genes within metazoan cells. Recently, the function of miR-27, one of the miRNAs, in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis has been identified. In vivo and in vitro studies suggest that miR-27 may serve as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for atherosclerosis. More recently, studies have identified important roles for miR-27 in angiogenesis, adipogenesis, inflammation, lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, etc. In this review, we focus on the role of miR-27 in the development of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques, potential as a disease biomarker and novel therapeutic target in atherosclerosis.
Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Key Laboratory for Atherosclerology of Hunan Province, Life Science Research Center, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan 421001, China.
Wu-Jun
WJ
Chen
Kai
K
Yin
Guo-Jun
GJ
Zhao
Yu-Chang
YC
Fu
Chao-Ke
CK
Tang
D000818:Animals; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D022762:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D050676:Core Binding Factor Alpha 2 Subunit / Q000378:metabolism; D018450:Disease Progression; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000378:metabolism
D022762:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Proteins; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D050676:Core Binding Factor Alpha 2 Subunit; C115270:G2A receptor; C531388:MIRN27 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled