MicroRNA-based therapeutic strategies for chronic kidney disease and uremic cardiomyopathy

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global health problem due to the growing prevalence of its primary causes, including aging, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. CKD patients have a disproportionally higher risk of premature cardiovascular morbidity and mortality than the non-CKD population. The interplay of multiple factors such as comorbidities, renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system, sympathetic nervous system, nitro-oxidative stress, inflammation, and fibrosis may result in the disease progression in both the kidney and heart in CKD. Current therapies can only slow down CKD progression, emphasizing the need to develop novel therapeutic strategies to stop or reverse the disease progression. MicroRNAs (miRs) are important posttranscriptional regulators of gene expression in physiological and pathological processes by translational repression or mRNA destabilization of numerous target genes. This chapter focuses on the potential translational therapeutic role of miRs in diabetic and nondiabetic nephropathy and uremic cardiomyopathy based on relevant preclinical and clinical studies.