Noncoding RNAs in smooth muscle cell homeostasis: implications in phenotypic switch and vascular disorders.
Vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC) are a highly specialized cell type that exhibit extraordinary plasticity in adult animals in response to a number of environmental cues. Upon vascular injury, SMC undergo phenotypic switch from a contractile-differentiated to a proliferative/migratory-dedifferentiated phenotype. This process plays a major role in vascular lesion formation and during the development of vascular remodeling. Vascular remodeling comprises the accumulation of dedifferentiated SMC in the intima of arteries and is central to a number of vascular diseases such as arteriosclerosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or pulmonary hypertension. Therefore, it is critical to understand the molecular mechanisms that govern SMC phenotype. In the last decade, a number of new classes of noncoding RNAs have been described. These molecules have emerged as key factors controlling tissue homeostasis during physiological and pathological conditions. In this review, we will discuss the role of noncoding RNAs, including microRNAs and long noncoding RNAs, in the regulation of SMC plasticity.
Department of Pulmonary Medicine Hospital Clínic-Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
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Coll-Bonfill
Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra, INIMEC-CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Friuli 2434, 5016, Córdoba, Argentina.
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de la Cruz-Thea
Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra, INIMEC-CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Friuli 2434, 5016, Córdoba, Argentina.
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Pisano
Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra, INIMEC-CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Friuli 2434, 5016, Córdoba, Argentina. mmusri@immf.uncor.edu.
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Musri
D000818:Animals; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000378:metabolism*; D010641:Phenotype; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
D035683:MicroRNAs; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding
Noncoding RNAs; Phenotypic change; Smooth muscle cells; lncRNAs; miRNAs