Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the result of atherosclerotic plaque development in the wall of the coronary arteries. The underlying mechanism involves atherosclerosis of the arteries of the heart which is a relatively complex process comprising several steps. In CAD, atherosclerosis induces functional and structural changes. The pathogenesis of CAD results from various changes in and interactions between multiple cell types in the artery walls; these changes mainly include endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction, vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) alteration, lipid deposition and macrophage activation. Various blood markers associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular endpoints have been identified; however, few have yet been shown to have a diagnostic impact or important clinical implications that would affect patient management. Noncoding RNAs, especially microRNAs (miRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), can be stable in plasma and other body fluids and could therefore serve as biomarkers for some diseases. Many studies have shown that some miRNAs and lncRNAs play key roles in heart and vascular development and in cardiac pathophysiology. Thus, we summarize here the latest research progress, focusing on the molecular mechanism of miRNAs and lncRNAs in CAD, with the intent of seeking new targets for the treatment of heart disease.
Keywords: atherosclerotic plaque; coronary artery disease; lncRNAs; miRNAs.