MicroRNA-133 mediates cardiac diseases: Mechanisms and clinical implications

•miR-218 is frequently downregulated in multiple cancers.•miR-218 plays pivotal roles in carcinogenesis.•miR-218 mediates proliferation, apoptosis, metastasis, invasion, etc.•miR-218 mediates tumorigenesis and metastasis via multiple pathways.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) belong to the family of small non-coding RNAs that mediate gene expression by post-transcriptional regulation. Increasing evidence have demonstrated that miR-133 is enriched in muscle tissues and myogenic cells, and its aberrant expression could induce the occurrence and development of cardiac disorders, such as cardiac hypertrophy, heart failure, etc. In this review, we summarized the regulatory roles of miR-133 in cardiac disorders and the underlying mechanisms, which suggest that miR-133 may be a potential diagnostic and therapeutic tool for cardiac disorders.