MicroRNA function and neurotrophin BDNF

MicroRNA function and neurotrophin BDNF

MicroRNAs (miRs), endogenous small RNAs, regulate gene expression through repression of translational activity after binding to target mRNAs. miRs are involved in various cellular processes including differentiation, metabolism, and apoptosis. Furthermore, possible involvement of miRs in neuronal function have been proposed. For example, miR-132 is closely related to neuronal outgrowth while miR-134 plays a role in postsynaptic regulation, suggesting that brain-specific miRs are critical for synaptic plasticity. On the other hand, numerous studies indicate that BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), one of the neurotrophins, is essential for a variety of neuronal aspects such as cell differentiation, survival, and synaptic plasticity in the central nervous system (CNS). Interestingly, recent studies, including ours, suggest that BDNF exerts its beneficial effects on CNS neurons via up-regulation of miR-132. Here, we present a broad overview of the current knowledge concerning the association between neurotrophins and various miRs. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

微小RNA（miRs）是内源性小RNA，在与靶mRNA结合后通过抑制翻译活性来调控基因表达。miRs参与多种细胞过程，包括分化、代谢和凋亡。此外，已有人提出miRs可能参与神经元功能。例如，miR - 132与神经元生长密切相关，而miR - 134在突触后调节中起作用，这表明脑特异性miRs对突触可塑性至关重要。另一方面，大量研究表明，脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）是神经营养因子之一，对中枢神经系统（CNS）中的多种神经元方面，如细胞分化、存活和突触可塑性至关重要。有趣的是，包括我们的研究在内的近期研究表明，BDNF通过上调miR - 132对中枢神经系统神经元发挥其有益作用。在此，我们对有关神经营养因子与各种miRs之间关联的现有知识进行了广泛综述。（C）2011爱思唯尔公司。保留所有权利。