ABSTRACT
There has been an increase in morbidity and mortality related to coronary heart disease (CHD) in China in recent years. Numerous clinical experiences and studies have shown that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plays an important role in the prevention, treatment, and prognosis of CHD. However, the mechanism of TCM in the treatment of CHD has not yet been elucidated. The circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network consists of miRNA that is competitively bound by circRNA, and miRNA regulates the transcription level of mRNA. Through literature review, we found that the circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network acts to contribute to certain effects to CHD such as myocardial hypertrophy, myocardial fibrosis, and heart failure. TCM contains constituents that act against CHD by antiatherosclerosis and apoptosis inhibition action, cardiac and cardiomyocyte protection, and these components also promote cell growth and protection of the vascular system by regulating miRNAs. Therefore, we consider that the circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network may be a new regulatory mechanism for the effective treatment of CHD by TCM.
ABSTRACT
A large number of basic and clinical studies have shown that the Chinese herbs with promoting blood circulation and resolving phlegm effects could prevent and treat myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury(MIRI) by regulating lipid metabolism. But its mechanism is not yet clear. The studies show that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), microRNAs and lipid metabolism participate in the whole process of MIRI and affect the prognosis. mtDNA mutation is the primary factor to cause myocardial ischemia and reperfusion myocardial cell damage. microRNAs aggravate or reduce MIRI injury by down-regulating or up-regulating related genes expression, while miR-33, as a key regulator of cholesterol transport, regulates lipid metabolism through CROT, PGC-1α, AMPK and other genes located in the mitochondria. There are less studies on correlation between miR-33 and mtDNA, microRNAs. Therefore, further studies on the correlation between miR-33 and mtDNA, microRNAs, as well as the discussions on whether the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with promoting blood circulation and resolving phlegm effects could target miR-33 to regulate lipid metabolism and inducemt DNA mutations or deletions, would have important significance for the prevention and treatment of MIRI.
