Applied Molecular Genomics Group, Department of Molecular Genetics, VIB.
Hum Mutat. 2010 Nov;31(11):1195-204. doi: 10.1002/humu.21344. Epub 2010 Oct 14.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of nonprotein coding genes with a growing importance in regulatory mechanisms of gene expression related to brain function and plasticity. Considering the relative lack of success of the analysis of variations in candidate protein coding genes and of genome-wide association studies to identify strong risk factors for common psychiatric disorders (PDs), miRNA genes are of particular interest for the field of psychiatric genetics as deregulation of the rate of transcription or translation of a normal gene may be phenotypically similar to disruption of the gene itself. In this article we review the current knowledge on the contribution of miRNAs in basic mechanisms of brain development and plasticity and their possible involvement in the pathogenesis of several PDs. Because future functional and genomic explorations of brain expressed miRNAs, and other types of noncoding RNAs, may identify additional candidate genes and pathways for common PDs, we believe that implementing additional strategies to further elucidate the role of miRNAs in the etiology of common PDs is of great importance.
微小 RNA（miRNA）是一类非蛋白编码基因，在与脑功能和可塑性相关的基因表达调控机制中具有越来越重要的作用。考虑到候选蛋白编码基因变异的分析和全基因组关联研究在鉴定常见精神障碍（PD）的强风险因素方面相对缺乏成功，miRNA 基因作为精神遗传学领域的特别关注点，因为正常基因转录或翻译率的失调可能表型上类似于基因本身的破坏。在本文中，我们回顾了 miRNA 在大脑发育和可塑性基本机制中的作用及其在几种 PD 发病机制中的可能参与的最新知识。因为对脑表达 miRNA 和其他类型非编码 RNA 的未来功能和基因组探索可能会确定常见 PD 的其他候选基因和途径，我们认为实施额外的策略来进一步阐明 miRNA 在常见 PD 病因学中的作用非常重要。
