MicroRNAs and vascular (dys)function.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs, that control diverse cellular functions by either promoting degradation or inhibition of target messenger RNA translation. An aberrant expression profile of miRNAs has been linked to human diseases, including cardiovascular dysfunction. This review summarizes the latest insights in the identification of vascular-specific miRNAs and their targets, as well as their roles and mechanisms in the vasculature. Furthermore, we discuss how manipulation of these miRNAs could represent a novel therapeutic approach in the treatment of vascular dysfunction.

MicroRNAs regulating cell pluripotency and vascular differentiation.

Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) offer broad potential for regenerative medicine owing to their capacity for self renewal, exponential scale up and differentiation into any cell type in the adult body. hESC have been proposed as a potentially unlimited source for the generation of transplantable, healthy, functional vascular cells for repair of ischemic tissues. To optimally harness this potential necessitates precise control over biological processes that govern maintenance, pluripotency and cell differentiation including signalling cascades, gene expression profiles and epigenetic modification. Such control may be elicited by microRNAs, which are powerful negative regulators of gene expression. Here, we review the role for miRNAs in both the maintenance of pluripotency and differentiation of cells to a cardiovascular lineage including endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells and cardiomyocytes and put this into context for regenerative medicine in the cardiovascular system.

MicroRNA regulation in angiogenesis.

The term angiogenesis derives from the Greek words 'angeio' meaning blood vessel, and 'genesis' meaning production or birth, together referring to the creation of blood vessels within the body. This term has been used to generally indicate the growth and remodeling process of the primitive vascular network into a complex network during pre-natal development. After birth, reparative angiogenesis is activated during wound healing and in response to ischemia, while pathological angiogenesis contributes to tumor growth and metastasis, arthritis and ocular diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous, small, non-coding RNAs that control gene expression by acting on target mRNAs for promoting either their degradation or translational repression. There is increasing evidence that miRNAs play important roles in vascular development as well as in vascular diseases. In this review, we aim at describing the role of miRNAs in angiogenesis, focusing, in particular, on post-ischemic neovascularization. First, we will describe the regulation and the expression of miRNAs in endothelial cells. Then, we will analyze the role of miRNAs in reparative and pathological angiogenesis. Finally, we will discuss the innovative strategies available to inhibit the level of pathogenic anti-angiogenic miRNAs and to increase expression of therapeutic miRNAs.

"ApoptomiRs" in vascular cells: their role in physiological and pathological angiogenesis.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as crucial players regulating the magnitude of gene expression in a variety of organisms. This class of short (22 nucleotides) noncoding RNA molecules have been shown to participate in almost every cellular process investigated so far, and their deregulation is observed in different human pathologies including cancer, heart disease, and neurodegeneration. These new molecular regulators have been identified also in endothelial cells (ECs), and their role in the regulation of different aspects of the angiogenic process has been recently investigated in a variety of laboratories. The current review focuses on the research progress regarding the roles of miRNAs in vascular pathology and their potential therapeutic applications for vascular diseases associated with abnormal angiogenesis, such as cancer.