Foreword

Cardiovascular disease has been the major cause of death of human beings; fighting this number one killer has been an endless endeavor of physicians and scientists worldwide. Armed with updated knowledge and improved technology is a basic requirement for wining the fight. In the past few years, we have witnessed rapid evolution of a novel scientific field: micro RNA (miRNA) has entered the macro world of heart. Several milestones in this field are identified. In the year 2005, Srivastava’s group reported a critical requirement of miRNAs to cardiac development, being the first documentation of miRNA function in mammalian heart. In 2006, Olsen’s group demonstrated the causative involvement of miRNAs in cardiac hypertrophy; representing the starting point of miRNA research in adult heart. This was followed by another six original papers on the same topic in 2007. The third milestone is the discovery, by the collaborative effort from Wang’s laboratory and my laboratory, of miRNAs as regulators of cardiac excitability and the associated arrhythmogenesis and sudden cardiac death. To date, more than 400 original research papers on the role of miRNAs in cardiovascular physiology and pathology have been published and new discoveries in this field are now published on weekly basis. We have already had a wealth of information about miRNAs in cardiovascular function and disease and the interest in this subject is still rapidly increasing. There is apparently an urgent need to have a systematic summary of these research data beyond single review articles.

The book, microRNAs and Cardiovascular Disease, written by Dr. Zhiguo Wang aims to provide such a summary, which is just timely and necessary. In this book, readers can find comprehensive reviews of diverse subjects related to miRNAs and the cardiovascular system, literature-exhausting collection of currently available data, up-to-date knowledge of potential pathophysiological implications, insightful and thoughtful analysis of existing questions and problems, etc. The book contains 18 chapters with the first two chapters on the basics of miRNAs and expression profiles of miRNAs in the cardiovascular system and the rest each focusing on a particular aspect of cardiovascular physiology and pathology and on the relevant technologies. The book, therefore, can be used as a reference book for researchers and professionals or as a textbook for university students.