The transcriptional complexity generated by the human genomic output is within the core of cell and organ physiology, but also could be in the origin of pathologies. In cardiovascular diseases, the role of specific families of RNA transcripts belonging to the group of the non-coding RNAs started to be unveiled in the last two decades. The knowledge of the functional rules and roles of non-coding RNAs in the context of cardiovascular diseases is an important factor to derive new diagnostic methods, but also to design targeted therapeutic strategies. The characterization and analysis of ncRNA function requires a deep knowledge of the regulatory mechanism of these RNA species that often relies on intricated interaction networks. The use of specific bioinformatic tools to interrogate biological data and to derive functional implications is particularly relevant and needs to be extended to the general practice of translational researchers. This chapter briefly summarizes the bioinformatic tools and strategies that could be used for the characterization and functional analysis of non-coding RNAs, with special emphasis in their applications to the cardiovascular field.
Keywords: Analytical methods; Bioinformatics; Cardiovascular diseases; Databases; Non-coding RNAs; Quantification; circRNAs; lncRNAs; miRNAs.