Genetic Unit, IRCCS Centro S. Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli Brescia, Italy ; Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia Brescia, Italy.
Department of Biomolecular and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Milan Milan, Italy.
Front Cell Neurosci. 2014 Mar 11;8:75. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2014.00075. eCollection 2014.
microRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs (20-22 nucleotides) playing a major role in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. miRNAs are predicted to regulate more than 50% of all the protein-coding genes. Increasing evidence indicates that they may play key roles in the biological pathways that regulate neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity, as well as in neurotransmitter homeostasis in the adult brain. In this article we review recent studies suggesting that miRNAs may be involved in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders and in the action of psychotropic drugs, in particular by analyzing the contribution of genomic studies in patients' peripheral tissues. Alterations in miRNA expression have been observed in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and other neuropsychiatric conditions. In particular, intriguing findings concern the identification of disease-associated miRNA signatures in peripheral tissues, or modifications in miRNA profiles induced by drug treatments. Furthermore, genetic variations in miRNA sequences and miRNA-related genes have been described in neuropsychiatric diseases. Overall, though still at a preliminary stage, several lines of evidence indicate an involvement of miRNAs in both the pathophysiology and pharmacotherapy of neuropsychiatric disorders. In this regard, the data obtained in peripheral tissues may provide further insights into the etiopathogenesis of several brain diseases and contribute to identify new biomarkers for diagnostic assessment improvement and treatment personalization.
微小 RNA（miRNA）是小的非编码 RNA（20-22 个核苷酸），在基因表达的转录后调控中发挥主要作用。miRNA 预计可以调控超过 50%的蛋白质编码基因。越来越多的证据表明，它们可能在调节神经发生和突触可塑性以及成年大脑中神经递质稳态的生物学途径中发挥关键作用。在本文中，我们综述了最近的研究，表明 miRNA 可能参与神经精神疾病的病理生理学和精神药物的作用，特别是通过分析基因组研究在患者外周组织中的贡献。在精神分裂症、双相情感障碍、重度抑郁症、帕金森病、阿尔茨海默病和其他神经精神疾病中观察到 miRNA 表达的改变。特别是，有趣的发现涉及到在周围组织中鉴定与疾病相关的 miRNA 特征，或药物治疗引起的 miRNA 谱的改变。此外，在神经精神疾病中已经描述了 miRNA 序列和 miRNA 相关基因的遗传变异。尽管仍处于初步阶段，但总体而言，有几项证据表明 miRNA 参与了神经精神疾病的病理生理学和药物治疗。在这方面，外周组织中获得的数据可能为几种脑部疾病的病因发病机制提供更多的见解，并有助于确定新的生物标志物，以改善诊断评估和个性化治疗。
