Arrhythmias are electrical disturbances resulting in irregular heartbeats.
Multiple ion channels orchestrate the coordinated propagation of electric stimuli within
the heart. Dysfunction of the ion channels, which may result from genetic alterations in
ion channel genes or their aberrant expression, can render electrical disturbances
predisposing to cardiac arrhythmias. MicroRNA (miRNA) is a type of small RNA
belonging to non-protein coding RNAs and is involved in RNA interference, thereby
functioning as a regulator of gene expression. Recently, the role of miRNA in cardiac
conduction diseases, arrhythmogenesis and their therapeutic potential has been
implicated. Stem cell therapies for cardiac arrhythmia have attempted to modulate
defective ionic currents by delivering engineered cells. The modulation or engineering
of stem cells with appropriate miRNAs could improvise stem cell-based therapies for
arrhythmia. This chapter would review the role of miRNAs in cardiac rhythmic
disorders and its potential in diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmia.
Keywords: Arrhythmia, Channelopathy, Conduction Disorder, Epigenetic
Regulation, Ion Channels, MicroRNA, Regenerative Medicine, Stem Cells, Stem
Cell Therapy, SCD, Target Prediction.
