PubMed ID
20920300
UMMS Affiliation
Department of Neurology; Department of Neurobiology
Date
10-6-2010
Document Type
Article
Subjects
MicroRNAs; Neurons
Disciplines
Life Sciences | Medicine and Health Sciences | Neurology | Neuroscience and Neurobiology
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that regulate multiple developmental processes at the post-transcriptional level. Recent rapid progresses have demonstrated critical roles for a number of miRNAs in neuronal development and function. In particular, miR-9 and miR-124 are specifically expressed in the mammalian nervous system, and their respective nucleotide sequences are 100% identical among many species. Yet, their expression patterns and mRNA targets are less conserved throughout evolution. As a consequence, these miRNAs exhibit diverse context-dependent functions in different aspects of neuronal development, ranging from early neurogenesis and neuronal differentiation to dendritic morphogenesis and synaptic plasticity. Some other neuronal miRNAs also exhibit context-dependent functions in development. Thus, post-transcriptional regulation of spatial and temporal expression levels of protein-coding genes by miRNAs contributes uniquely to the proper development and evolution of the complex nervous system.
Rights and Permissions
Citation: Neural Dev. 2010 Oct 1;5(1):25. Link to article on publisher's site