Utilization and Potential of RNA-Based Therapies in Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the largest cause of mortality worldwide. The development of new effective therapeutics is a major unmet need. The current review focuses broadly on the concept of nucleic acid (NA)–based therapies, considering the use of various forms of NAs, including mRNAs, miRNAs, siRNA, and guide RNAs, the latter specifically for the purpose of CRISPR-Cas directed gene editing. We describe the current state-of-the-art of RNA target discovery and development, the status of RNA therapeutics in the context of CVD, and some of the challenges and hurdles to be overcome.