Tiny antisense molecules increase ‘good cholesterol’ levels in obese primates
"We have found that targeting both members of the miR-33 microRNA family with a tiny, 8-nucleotide anti-microRNA can increase HDL levels by almost 40 percent," says Anders Näär, PhD, of the MGH Center for Cancer Research, who led the study. "This sets the stage for new therapeutic strategies to treat cardiovascular disease in humans and provides a template for targeting other disease-associated microRNA families." Major regulators of gene expression, microRNAs are segments made up of 20- to 24-nucleotides that bind to complementary strands of messenger RNA, blocking their translation into proteins. A 2010 study led by Näär identified two related microRNAs — miR-33a and miR-33b — that inhibit a protein called ABCA1, which is essential for both the generation of HDL and for the transport of lipids to the liver. …