Reply to the Letter to the Editor: “The role of miRNA in regulating epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) inflammation”

We thank other authors for their interest on our recently published article and the IJC editorial office for giving us the opportunity to reply to the letter [ [1] Huang W, Wu X, Xue Y, Zhou Y, Xiang H, Yang W, et al. MicroRNA-3614 regulates inflammatory response via targeting TRAF6-mediated MAPKs and NF-kB signaling in the epicardial adipose tissue with coronary artery disease. Int. J. Cardiol. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcard.2020.09.045. Google Scholar ]. The low-grade chronic inflammation of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) plays a pivotal role in coronary artery disease (CAD) pathogenesis and progression due to the special positional relationship between EAT and the heart [ [2] Alexopoulos N. Katritsis D. Raggi P. Visceral adipose tissue as a source of inflammation and promoter of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis. 2014; 233: 104-112 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (166) Google Scholar ]. However, the mechanism behind the regulation of EAT inflammation is not fully understood. Some pieces of evidence indicate that microRNAs (miRNAs) participate in inflammation processes [ [3] Runtsch M.C. Nelson M.C. Lee S.H. et al. Anti-inflammatory microRNA-146a protects mice from diet-induced metabolic disease. PLoS Genet. 2019; 15e1007970 Crossref PubMed Scopus (21) Google Scholar ]. Therefore, our research focused on miRNAs that can regulate EAT inflammation and developed therapies for CAD.