miRNAs in Vascular Angiogenesis

Abstract

Several processes including endothelial angiogenesis, vascular neointimal lesion formation, vascular inflammation process, lipoprotein metabolism, and hypertension are critically involved in antherogenesis or atherosclerosis. This chapter aims to introduce the role of miRNAs in endothelial angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing vessels. Functional endothelial cells are required for angiogenesis, a process involving proliferation, migration, and maturation of endothelial cells. Several miRNAs have been shown to critically regulate vascular angiogenesis and they can be classified into pro-angiogenic miRNAs and anti-angiogenic miRNAs. Pro-angiogenic miRNAs indentified to date include miR-130a, miR- 17~92 cluster, miR-210, miR-378, miR-7f, miR-27b, and miR-126. The known anti-angiogenic miRNAs include miR-320, miR-221 and miR-222. In addition, the miRNAs that are reportedly involved in tumor vascular biology are also introduced in this chapter.

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