Dissecting the transcriptome in cardiovascular disease

The human transcriptome comprises a complex network of coding and non-coding RNAs implicated in a myriad of biological functions. Non-coding RNAs exhibit highly organised spatial and temporal expression patterns and are emerging as critical regulators of differentiation, homeostasis and pathological states, including in the cardiovascular system. This review defines the current knowledge gaps, unmet methodological needs and describes the challenges in dissecting and understanding the role and regulation of the non-coding transcriptome in cardiovascular disease. These challenges include poor annotation of the non-coding genome, determination of the cellular distribution of transcripts, assessment of the role of RNA processing and identification of cell-type specific changes in cardiovascular physiology and disease. We highlight similarities and differences in the hurdles associated with the analysis of the non-coding and protein-coding transcriptomes. In addition, we discuss how the lack of consensus and absence of standardised methods affect reproducibility of data. These shortcomings should be defeated in order to make significant scientific progress and foster the development of clinically applicable non-coding RNA-based therapeutic strategies to lessen the burden of cardiovascular disease.