Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
EMBO Mol Med. 2012 Sep;4(9):849-59. doi: 10.1002/emmm.201100922. Epub 2012 Jun 29.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression through the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway and by inhibition of mRNA translation. miRNAs first made their appearance in the auditory and vestibular systems in 2005, with the discovery of a triad of hair cell-specific miRNAs later found to be involved in both human and mouse deafness. Since then, miRNAs have been implicated in other medical conditions related to these systems, such as cholesteatomas, vestibular schwannomas and otitis media. Due to the limitations in studying miRNAs and their targets derived from human inner ears, animal models are vital in this field of research. Therefore their role in inner ear development and function has been demonstrated by studies in zebrafish and mice. Transcriptomic and proteomic approaches have been undertaken to identify miRNAs and their targets. Finally, it has been suggested that miRNAs may be used in the future in regeneration of inner ear hair cells and ultimately play a role in therapeutics.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) 是小的非编码 RNA，通过 RNA 干扰 (RNAi) 途径和抑制 mRNA 翻译来调节基因表达。miRNAs 于 2005 年首次在听觉和前庭系统中出现，随后发现了一组三头发丝细胞特异性 miRNAs，后来发现它们与人类和小鼠耳聋有关。从那时起，miRNAs 就与这些系统相关的其他医学病症有关，例如胆脂瘤、前庭神经鞘瘤和中耳炎。由于研究人类内耳中的 miRNAs 及其靶标存在局限性，因此动物模型在这一研究领域至关重要。因此，在斑马鱼和小鼠中进行的研究证明了它们在内耳发育和功能中的作用。通过转录组学和蛋白质组学方法来鉴定 miRNAs 和它们的靶标。最后，有人提出，miRNAs 可能在未来用于内耳毛细胞的再生，并最终在治疗中发挥作用。
