Role of microRNAs in the pathogenesis of diabetic cardiomyopathy

The morbidity of diabetes mellitus has been increasing annually. As a progressive metabolic disorder, chronic complications occur in the late stage of diabetes. In addition, cardiovascular diseases account for the major cause of morbidity and mortality among the diabetic population worldwide. Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a type of diabetic heart disease. Patients with DCM show symptoms and signs of heart failure while no specific cause, such as coronary disease, hypertension, alcohol consumption, or other structural heart diseases has been identified. The pathogenesis of DCM is complex and has not been well understood until recently. MicroRNAs (miRs) belong to a novel family of highly conserved, short, non-coding, single-stranded RNA molecules that regulate transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene expression. Furthermore, recent studies have demonstrated an association between miRs and DCM. In the current review, the role of miRs in the pathogenesis of DCM is summarized. It was concluded that miRs contribute to the regulation of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, myocardial fibrosis, cardiomyocyte apoptosis, mitochondrial dysfunction, myocardial electrical remodeling, epigenetic modification and various other pathophysiological processes of DCM. These studies may provide novel insights into targets for prevention and treatment of the disease.