WP8 addresses two significant and often fatal cardiovascular diseases: Carotid artery stenoses and aneurysms of the abdominal aorta. In both cases, changes in vascular structure are causative for the disease. Preliminary work on WP8 already showed that a small non-coding RNA, the microRNA miR-126-5p, in the cell nucleus can assume an unusual function as an RNA aptamer that has a protective effect on endothelial cells. Here, the binding of the microRNA to the protein Mex3A is crucial. The aim of this WP is to develop aptamers that preferentially bind to Mex3A and, based on this, to develop drug-eluting stents that release the aptamer as a protective agent.