Endothelial microRNAs and long noncoding RNAs in cardiovascular ageing.
Diewertje I Bink, Jessica Pauli, Lars Maegdefessel, Reinier A Boon
Author Information
Diewertje I Bink: Department of Physiology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, Microcirculation, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Jessica Pauli: Department for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany; German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany.
Lars Maegdefessel: Department for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany; German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany; Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Reinier A Boon: Department of Physiology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, Microcirculation, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Institute for Cardiovascular Regeneration, Centre for Molecular Medicine, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; German Centre for Cardiovascular Research DZHK, Partner site Frankfurt Rhein/Main, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany. Electronic address: r.a.boon@amsterdamumc.nl.
Atherosclerosis and numerous other cardiovascular diseases develop in an age-dependent manner. The endothelial cells that line the vessel walls play an important role in the development of atherosclerosis. Non-coding RNA like microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs are known to play an important role in endothelial function and are implicated in the disease progression. Here, we summarize several microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs that are known to have an altered expression with endothelial aging and discuss their role in endothelial cell function and senescence. These processes contribute to aging-induced atherosclerosis development and by targeting the non-coding RNAs controlling endothelial cell function and senescence, atherosclerosis can potentially be attenuated.