MicroRNAs as therapeutic targets in heart failure

European Coordinator:
  • Stefan ENGELHARDT, Technische Universität München (Germany)
North American Coordinator:
  • Eric N. OLSON, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas (USA)
Members:
  • Gianluigi CONDORELLI, University of Milan Bicocca (Italy)
  • Leon J. DE WINDT, University of Maastricht (The Netherlands)
  • Milton PACKER, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas (USA)
  • Markus STOFFEL, Institute of Systems Biology, ETH, Zurich (Switzerland)
  • Edwin CUPPEN, The Hubrecht Institute, Utrecht (The Netherlands)
  • Annick HAREL-BELLAN, CNRS, Villejuif (France)
  • Fabio RECCHIA, National Council of Research, Pisa (Italy)
  • Jeffrey ROBBINS, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (USA)
  • Eva VAN ROOIJ, Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas (USA)

The sequencing of the human genome has yielded many surprising findings.  It is increasingly apparent that the complexity of the human organism as compared with other animals derives not merely from genes themselves, but from an elaborate mechanism regulating their expression. One such regulatory mechanism involves microRNAs, short strands of RNA that are not transcribed into proteins like typical RNA molecules, but rather regulate the expression of other genes.  This network seeks to understand the role of microRNAs in heart failure, a disease process that involves significant shifts in gene expression.  This work has the potential not only to lead to new treatments for heart failure but also opens the way for understanding microRNA contributions to other diseases.

For more information, see at microrna-leducq.com.