Peer-review started: October 8, 2014
First decision: November 1, 2014
Revised: November 12, 2014
Accepted: December 10, 2014
Article in press: December 10, 2014
Published online: February 23, 2015
Processing time: 127 Days and 15.9 Hours
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most commonly encountered clinical arrhythmia associated with pronounced mortality and morbidity, which are related to palpitations, fainting, congestive heart failure, and stroke. Prolonged episodes of AF promote AF persistence mainly due to electrical remodelling that alters ion-channel expression and/or function. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a new class of non-coding mRNAs of around 22 nucleotides in length, have recently emerged as one of the key players in the gene-expression regulatory networks. The potential roles of miRNAs in controlling AF have recently been investigated. Several recent studies have provided promising results for a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of AF. In this review, we summarize the mechanism of miRNAs as regulators of ion-channel gene expression and their role in causing AF through electrical remodelling.
Core tip: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia in clinical practice associated with pronounced mortality and morbidity. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), which are approximately 22 nucleotide long RNA regulators of gene expression, have become a major focus of research in molecular biology miRNAs have emerged as key post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression therefore, it is important to comment on the roles of these small non-protein-coding mRNAs in the cardiovascular system and their involvement in AF. In this review, we summarize the mechanism of miRNAs as regulators of ion-channels genes and their role in electrical remodelling caused by AF.