Role of miRNAs in vascular development

The development of the vertebrate vascular system is an extremely important and complex process. The circulatory system is the first organ system to develop during embryogenesis. The development of the vasculature into highly branched canals must occur clearly in many places in order to supply oxygen and nutrients to the rapidly developing embryo. This process is mediated by a coordinated response of vascular endothelial and parietal cells to heterogeneous angiogenic signals provided by tissues and organs. MicroRNAs regulate gene expression at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels and participate in many important physiological and pathological processes. MicroRNAs mainly play an important role in the developmental regulation of vascular smooth muscle cells and vascular endothelial cells. This article summarizes the research progress of microRNAs in vascular development in recent years, focusing on the regulatory mechanism of miR-126 and miR-17/92 families in vascular endothelial cells, as well as the miR-143/145 family, miR-21 in vascular smooth muscle cell's regulation. The research prospects of the role of microRNAs in vascular development are also presented in this article.