Role of cardiac endothelial cells-derived microRNAs in cardiac remodeling.

Cardiac remodeling refers to a series of compensatory changes in the size, shape, and function of the myocardium in response to heart injury. This process involves the permanent multiple cell types of the myocardium such as cardiomyocytes (CMs), cardiac fibroblasts (CFs), endothelial cells (ECs), and inflammatory cells. Dynamic communications among different cells, particularly the communication between ECs and CMs and between ECs and CFs, play an important role in cardiac remodeling. MicroRNAs, a class of short RNA molecules, have emerged recently as the novel elements of intercellular communication in the cardiovascular system. More specifically, microRNAs secreted by cardiac ECs either positively or negatively affect cardiac remodeling. Information on the role of these microRNAs in cardiac remodeling is limited and scattered throughout the literature. In this review, we summarize the effects of EC-derived microRNAs on cardiac remodeling. A better understanding of these EC-derived microRNAs may provide potential novel therapeutic targets in the treatment of cardiac injuries, such as myocardial infarction, that require tissue regeneration and remodeling.