Department of Physiology & Cellular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Neurobiol Dis. 2012 May;46(2):291-301. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2012.02.016. Epub 2012 Mar 3.
MicroRNAs (miRNA), a class of non-coding RNAs, are emerging as important modulators of neuronal development, structure and function. A connection has been established between abnormalities in miRNA expression and miRNA-mediated gene regulation and psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders as well as cognitive dysfunction. Establishment of this connection has been driven by progress in elucidating the genetic etiology of these phenotypes and has provided a context to interpret additional supporting evidence accumulating from parallel expression profiling studies in brains and peripheral blood of patients. Here we review relevant evidence that supports this connection and explore possible mechanisms that underlie the contribution of individual miRNAs and miRNA-related pathways to the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of these complex clinical phenotypes. The existing evidence provides useful hypotheses for further investigation as well as important clues for identifying novel therapeutic targets.
MicroRNAs (miRNA)，一类非编码 RNA，正在成为神经元发育、结构和功能的重要调节因子。miRNA 表达异常与 miRNA 介导的基因调控以及精神和神经发育障碍以及认知功能障碍之间的联系已经建立起来。这种联系的确立是由阐明这些表型的遗传病因学的进展推动的，并为从患者大脑和外周血的平行表达谱研究中积累的额外支持证据提供了一个解释的背景。在这里，我们回顾了支持这种联系的相关证据，并探讨了个体 miRNA 和 miRNA 相关途径对这些复杂临床表型发病机制和病理生理学的贡献的可能机制。现有证据为进一步研究提供了有用的假设，也为识别新的治疗靶点提供了重要线索。
