miR-29 contributes to normal endothelial function and can restore it in cardiometabolic disorders. Liang and Colleagues, EMBO Mol Med. 2018

miR-29 contributes to normal endothelial function and can restore it in cardiometabolic disorders.

Liang and Colleagues, EMBO Mol Med. 2018

A team of scientists from multiple departments at MCW recently discovered a novel mechanism for vascular dysfunction in cardiometabolic disorders.  They found the microRNA miR-29 was required for normal vascular function.  Moreover, miR-29 could restore the function of blood vessels from patients with diabetes and hypertension.  They went on to identify the molecular pathway that mediates these effects of miR-29.  To make these discoveries, the team performed vascular biopsies in more than 100 study participants, generated the first gene knockout rat for a specific microRNA, and utilized more than a dozen distinct research methods including new methods they developed for this study.  The study was made possible by long-term, in-depth collaborations among physiologists, physicians, genomicists, molecular biologists and statisticians.

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