APPLICATION OF MICRO-RNA IN THE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF CORONARY HEART DISEASE

Abstract

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. To this day, there is an urgent need to develop and test reliable and minimally invasive biomarkers for the diagnosis and prediction of coronary artery disease, as well as new therapies that could be used alone or in combination in modern clinical practice. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenously expressed RNA molecules 18-22 nucleotides in length that suppress gene expression at the post-transcriptional level by binding to a 3 ′ untranslated region of m RNA targets. Many studies have shown that miRNAs play a key role in the normal functioning and pathophysiology of the cardiovascular system. It is known that circulating miRNAs are in a stable form and can be detected in human biological fluids, such as blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and saliva. Therefore, circulating miRNAs are considered as new biomarkers of interest in many diseases, including CHD. Thus, we summarize here the latest results of studies that look at miRNAs as biomarkers and therapeutic targets.