MicroRNAs regulating cell pluripotency and vascular differentiation

Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) offer broad potential for regenerative medicine owing to their capacity for self renewal, exponential scale up and differentiation into any cell type in the adult body. hESC have been proposed as a potentially unlimited source for the generation of transplantable, healthy, functional vascular cells for repair of ischemic tissues. To optimally harness this potential necessitates precise control over biological processes that govern maintenance, pluripotency and cell differentiation including signalling cascades, gene expression profiles and epigenetic modification. Such control may be elicited by microRNAs, which are powerful negative regulators of gene expression. Here, we review the role for miRNAs in both the maintenance of pluripotency and differentiation of cells to a cardiovascular lineage including endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells and cardiomyocytes and put this into context for regenerative medicine in the cardiovascular system.