MicroRNA and vascular smooth muscle cells.

Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) exhibit extraordinary plasticity during postnatal development. Vascular injury initiates VSMC phenotypic switch from the contractile to proliferative phenotype, which plays a central role in vascular lesion formation and diverse vascular diseases. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression posttranscriptionally by either degrading target mRNAs or repressing their translation. Emerging evidence has revealed miRNAs are critical regulators in VSMC differentiation from stem cells, phenotypic switch, and various vascular pathogenesis. Here, we review recent advances regarding functions of specific miRNAs in vasculature and discuss possible mechanisms by which miRNAs affect VSMC biology.