MicroRNA-29: a potential therapeutic target for systemic sclerosis.

Introduction: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a systemic autoimmune disease of unknown cause characterized by microvasculopathy, fibroblast activation, and excessive production of collagen, causing tissue and organ damage. Effective medical treatment for SSc is lacking because the etiology and pathogenesis of SSc are not fully understood. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous, regulatory, single-stranded, noncoding RNAs that negatively modulate gene expression by either promoting the degradation of mRNA or down-regulating the protein production by translational repression. Among them, miRNA-29 is recently discovered as a class of miRNAs which is related to fibrotic disease. Numerous evidences have confirmed that miRNA-29 involved in the expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) and regulated organ fibrosis. These findings revealed a potential and appealing role for miRNA-29 as SSc therapeutic targets. Areas covered: This review provides a comprehensive view on the biogenesis and functions of miRNAs. We also discus...