Noncoding RNAs in Cardiovascular Disease

For decades, it has been recognized that proteins, which are encoded by our genomes via transcription and translation, are building blocks that play vital roles in almost all biological processes. Mutations identified in many protein-coding genes are linked to various human diseases. However, this “protein-centered” dogma has been challenged in recent years with the discovery that majority of our genome is “noncoding” yet transcribed. Noncoding RNA has become the focus of “next generation” biology. Here, we review the emerging field of noncoding RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), and their function in cardiovascular biology and disease.