Nelson Peter T, Keller Jeffrey N
Department of Pathology and Division of Neuropathology, University of Kentucky, Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, Lexington, Kentucky 40536-0230, USA.
J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 2007 Jun;66(6):461-8. doi: 10.1097/01.jnen.0000240474.27791.f3.
RNA research has made great progress in recent years. A variety of unforeseen complexities have been identified, many with relevance to human brain disease. For example, neurologic illnesses may arise because of perturbations in distinct but interrelated tiers of RNA-based genetic regulation: pre-mRNA splicing; nonsplicing RNA modifications; and mRNA translational regulation. Furthermore, there is poor correlation between mRNA levels and protein levels in mammalian cells, due partly to complicated post-transcriptional regulation by hitherto unknown noncoding RNAs. Some noncoding RNAs have been shown to be involved in human brain diseases. Diseases potentially mediated by alterations in RNA processes include tauopathies, myotonic dystrophy, Alzheimer disease, brain cancer, and many others. Here we present an overview of new research highlighting functions for RNA that far surpass the "messenger in the middle" role and that identify RNA molecules as important agents in the human brain in health and in disease states.
近年来，RNA研究取得了巨大进展。人们发现了各种意想不到的复杂性，其中许多与人类脑部疾病相关。例如，神经系统疾病可能由于基于RNA的基因调控中不同但相互关联的层次受到干扰而产生：前体mRNA剪接、非剪接RNA修饰以及mRNA翻译调控。此外，哺乳动物细胞中mRNA水平与蛋白质水平之间的相关性较差，部分原因是迄今未知的非编码RNA进行的复杂转录后调控。一些非编码RNA已被证明与人类脑部疾病有关。可能由RNA过程改变介导的疾病包括tau蛋白病、强直性肌营养不良、阿尔茨海默病、脑癌等等。在这里，我们概述了一项新研究，该研究强调了RNA的功能远远超越了“中间信使”的角色，并将RNA分子确定为人类大脑在健康和疾病状态下的重要因素。
