Review Non-Coding RNAs in the Cardiac Action Potential and Their Impact on Arrhythmogenic Cardiac Diseases Estefania Lozano-Velasco 1,2 , Amelia Aranega 1,2 and Diego Franco 1,2,* 1 Cardiovascular Development Group, Department of Experimental Biology, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain;
[email protected] (E.L.-V.);
[email protected] (A.A.) 2 Fundación Medina, 18016 Granada, Spain * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: Cardiac arrhythmias are prevalent among humans across all age ranges, affecting millions of people worldwide. While cardiac arrhythmias vary widely in their clinical presentation, they possess shared complex electrophysiologic properties at cellular level that have not been fully studied. Over the last decade, our current understanding of the functional roles of non-coding RNAs have progressively increased. microRNAs represent the most studied type of small ncRNAs and it has been demonstrated that miRNAs play essential roles in multiple biological contexts, including normal development and diseases. In this review, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the functional contribution of non-coding RNAs, primarily microRNAs, to the normal configuration of the cardiac action potential, as well as their association to distinct types of arrhythmogenic cardiac diseases. Keywords: cardiac arrhythmia; microRNAs; lncRNAs; cardiac action potential Citation: Lozano-Velasco, E.; Aranega, A.; Franco, D. Non-Coding RNAs in the Cardiac Action Potential 1. The Electrical Components of the Adult Heart and Their Impact on Arrhythmogenic The adult heart is a four-chambered organ that propels oxygenated blood to the entire Cardiac Diseases. Hearts 2021, 2, body. It is composed of atrial and ventricular chambers, each of them with distinct left and 307–330.