Theranostics 2013; 3(12):930-942. doi:10.7150/thno.7026 This issue Cite
Review
1. Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Drive, Research Techno Plaza, Level 4, X-Frontier Block, Singapore-637553
2. Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, 3 Research Link, Singapore-117602.
3. Centre for Pheromone Technology (CPT), Department of Animal Science, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli- 620 024, India.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs), an abundant class of ~22-nucleotide non-coding RNAs, regulate the expression of genes at post transcriptional level. MiRNAs are important regulators of eukaryotic gene expression and therefore implicated in a wide range of biological processes. The miRNA-related genetic alterations are possibly more implicated human diseases than currently appreciated. Genetic variants in miRNA target sites, called miRNA genes are identified to be associated with human diseases. This review discusses about the role of micro-RNA genes in various human diseases such as neurodegenerative disorders, cardio-vascular diseases, and metabolic disorders, and how they can be targeted as a new therapeutic tool in future with reference to drug discoveries/ development.
Keywords: miRNA therapy, novel therapeutics, Neurodegenerative disorders, Cardio-vascular diseases and metabolic disorders