microRNA and aging

The critical role of the endothelium in governing vascular, tissues homeostasis and pathological processes is increasingly recognized (Deanfield et al., 2007). Cellular senescence of endothelial cells has been proposed to be involved in endothelial dysfunction and atherogenesis (Minamino T et al., 2007), although the mechanisms underlying the aging induced attenuation of endothelium dependent functions are yet to be clarified. Recent evidences implicated overall miRNA levels and miRNA in regulating angiogenesis and endothelial function (Suarez et al., 2007; Kuehbacher et al., 2007; Harris et al., 2008; Fish et al. 2008; Wang et al., 2008). To investigate the role of miRNAs in endothelial cell senescence, we first profiled the miRNA signature during HUVECs aging (Maciag et al.,1981), through DNA microarray containing 200 oligonucleotide probes complementary to mature forms of miRNAs of human, mouse, and rat origin.