Fulfilling the Promise of RNA Therapies for Cardiac Repair and Regeneration

The progressive appreciation that multiple types of RNAs regulate virtually all aspects of tissue function and the availability of effective tools to deliver RNAs in vivo now offers unprecedented possibilities for obtaining RNA-based therapeutics. For the heart, RNA therapies can be developed that stimulate endogenous repair after cardiac damage. Applications in this area include acute cardioprotection after ischemia or cancer chemotherapy, therapeutic angiogenesis to promote new blood vessel formation, regeneration to form new cardiac mass, and editing of mutations to cure inherited cardiac disease. While the potential of RNA therapeutics for all these conditions is exciting, the field is still in its infancy. A number of roadblocks need to be overcome for RNA therapies to become effective, in particular, related to the problem of delivering RNA medicines into the cells and targeting them specifically to the heart.

Automated summary

The realization that various types of RNAs play a crucial role in tissue function opens up new possibilities for RNA-based therapies. For heart-related conditions, RNA therapies can stimulate cardiac repair, protect against ischemic damage or chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity, promote therapeutic angiogenesis, regenerate cardiac mass, and cure inherited cardiac diseases through mutation editing. However, the field of RNA therapeutics is still in its early stages and faces challenges in delivering RNA medicines to cells and specifically targeting the heart.