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The increasing interest of miRNAs in clinical practice has led to an unmet need for assays that can rapidly and accurately measure miRNAs at the point of care. This review discusses the clinical feasibility of different miRNA amplification-based assays, from conventional methods to alternative technologies such as isothermal amplification, paper-based, oligonucleotide-templated reaction, nanobead-based, electrochemical signaling-based, and microfluidic chip-based strategies.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common, destructive and pre-malignant airway disease often seen in smokers. We know remarkably little about the underlying driving mechanisms. Scientists have recently made important observations indicating that epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is central to these pathologies, with heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor as an emerging novel therapeutic target to ameliorate EMT in smokers and patients with COPD.
Oxidative stress and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are major contributors to pulmonary arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis, and systemic hypertension. In this review, the authors discuss how redox balance in SMC by vascular NADPH oxidases, mitochondria bioenergetics, as well as the soluble guanylate cyclase–cyclic guanosine monophosphate–protein kinase G pathway can functionally change SMC from contractile to phenotypically diverse cells and vice versa.