MicroRNAs: New Biomarkers for the progression of Coronary Artery Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), especially the coronary arterial diseases (CADs), have become the main cause of death all around the world, attracting attentions from the whole society. Even though considerable progresses have been made for the treatment of CADs, many clinical challenges remain to be overcome. In particular, effective biomarkers for CADs need to be developed to facilitate the early diagnosis and thus early treatment of the disease. Recently, the dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been found to be involved in the progression of multiple CADs, manifested as altered levels of miRNAs at different disease phases, suggesting that miRNAs may be capable of serving as promising biomarkers for CADs. Here, we attempt to evaluate the possibility of miRNAs as biomarkers for CADs and compare these markers with previously reported ones. In this review, we will summarize the basic concepts and advances for CADs and miRNAs, with a special emphasis on miRNAs in the progression of CADs.