Review focus on the role of microRNA in cardiovascular biology and disease

MicroRNAs (miRNAs; miR) are emerging therapeutic targets in a broad range of diseases, including cardiovascular disease.There are many programmes at the international level currently investigating the suitability of miRNA therapeutics for clinical purposes, and these new developments may potentially result in a novel armada of more powerful and mechanism-oriented therapeutics.It is now well accepted that miRNAs represent critical regulators of cardiovascular function. 1,2Initial reports about the role of miRNAs in cardiovascular development 3 and disease 4 have stimulated tremendous interest, resulting in a substantial gain of knowledge about miRNAs in the cardiovascular system.This almost unprecedented speed of development can probably be explained by the direct translational impact of miRNA research: the suitability of miRNAs to serve as potential prognostic biomarkers 1,5 and as therapeutic targets 6,7 for cardiovascular disease is intriguing and justifies our initial excitement about non-coding RNAs.This review focus issue of Cardiovascular Research summarizes novel and exciting aspects of miRNA-based mechanisms, diagnostics, and therapeutic developments for cardiovascular diseases.To start with, it is important to note that the fast pace of miRNA research has required the development of many new techniques and methods.Thus, the review article by Dangwal et al. 8 mainly focuses on techniques and methods in cardiovascular miRNA research.In essence, the authors describe new methods to screen for miRNA expression and to identify and validate miRNA targets.They also address advances in the manipulation of miRNA expression both in vitro and in vivo, a prerequisite for studies using miRNA-based therapeutics.Surprisingly, miRNAs also exist extracellularly, where they may serve as biomarkers for disease in the circulation and other bodily fluids.This aspect is introduced by Dangwal et al. 8 and in more detail by Zampetaki et al. 9 The latter group points out that