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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 May 1.
Published in final edited form as: Curr Opin Cardiol. 2020 May;35(3):234–241. doi: 10.1097/HCO.0000000000000728

Fig.1. Role of transcriptional regulatory elements (enhancers) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in cardiovascular disease.

Fig.1.

LncRNAs and enhancers regulate target gene expression alone or in combination. Enhancers are characterized by the presence of H3K27ac, transcription factors, and coactivators such as mediator, p300 and BRD4. LncRNAs and enhancers control nearby (cis) or distal (trans) gene expression. LncRNAs can also function as competing endogenous RNAs for some miRNAs. Together, these regulatory elements play important roles in epigenetic mechanisms controlling the expression of genes mediating the functions of vascular smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, and monocytes/macrophages. Dysregulation of epigenetic mechanisms and related genes in these cells can lead to the pathological effects (schematically indicated under each cell-type) that can lead to cardiovascular diseases like hypertension and atherosclerosis.