Utilization and Potential of RNA-Based Therapies in Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the largest cause of mortality worldwide. The development of new effective therapeutics is a major unmet need. The current review focuses broadly on the concept of nucleic acid (NA)-based therapies, considering the use of various forms of NAs, including mRNAs, miRNAs, siRNA, and guide RNAs, the latter specifically for the purpose of CRISPR-Cas directed gene editing. We describe the current state-of-the-art of RNA target discovery and development, the status of RNA therapeutics in the context of CVD, and some of the challenges and hurdles to be overcome.