Translational Psychiatry Program, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Houston, TX, USA.
Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Houston, TX, USA.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2019;1118:175-190. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-05542-4_9.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a severe and chronic psychiatric disorder with a high prevalence in the population. Although our understanding of its pathophysiological mechanisms has significantly increased over the years, available treatments still present several limitations and are not effective to all MDD patients. Epigenetic mechanisms have recently been suggested to play key roles in MDD pathogenesis and treatment, including the effects of small noncoding RNAs known as microRNAs (miRNAs). miRNAs can modulate gene expression posttranscriptionally by interfering with the stability and translation of messenger RNA molecules and are also known to cross-talk with other epigenetic mechanisms. In this review, we will summarize and discuss recent findings of alterations in miRNAs in tissues of patients with MDD and evidence of treatment-induced effects in these molecules.
重度抑郁症（MDD）是一种严重且慢性的精神疾病，在人群中的发病率很高。尽管近年来我们对其病理生理学机制的理解有了显著提高，但现有的治疗方法仍存在诸多局限性，并非对所有 MDD 患者都有效。最近的研究表明，表观遗传机制在 MDD 的发病机制和治疗中起着关键作用，包括小非编码 RNA 即 microRNAs（miRNAs）的作用。miRNAs 可以通过干扰信使 RNA 分子的稳定性和翻译来调节基因表达的转录后水平，并且已知它们与其他表观遗传机制相互作用。在这篇综述中，我们将总结和讨论 MDD 患者组织中 miRNAs 改变的最新发现以及这些分子在治疗中的诱导作用的证据。
