Exercise-Induced Long Noncoding RNAs as New Players in Cardiac Hypertrophy

During the past decade, advances in sequencing and genomics technology have transformed our understanding of the genome. Unexpectedly, these studies revealed that noncoding RNAs account for the vast majority of the transcribed genome, spurring intense interest in determining the functions of these molecules. Noncoding RNAs are a diverse family of transcripts that can be classified by size: RNAs <200 nucleotides are designated as small noncoding RNAs, which includes microRNAs (miRNA) and small interfering RNAs; RNAs >200 nucleotides are referred to as long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). miRNAs function as posttranscriptional repressors of gene expression that directly bind to target messenger RNAs to inhibit translation or induce transcript degradation. miRNAs play essential roles in cardiovascular physiology and pathophysiology, and clinical trials using promising miRNA targets in heart failure have recently commenced. Far less is currently known about lncRNAs, which are a more heterogeneous class of RNAs that participate in diverse cellular processes including transcriptional regulation, nuclear domain organization, and direct regulation of proteins or RNA molecules. Recently, lncRNAs have emerged as additional key players in cardiovascular health and disease, gaining attention both as potential therapeutic targets and biomarkers for a broad range of diseases.