Qin Chuan, Xu Pei-Pei, Zhang Xin, Zhang Chao, Liu Chang-Bin, Yang De-Gang, Gao Feng, Yang Ming-Liang, Du Liang-Jie, Li Jian-Jun
School of Rehabilitation Medicine, Capital Medical University; China Rehabilitation Science Institute; Center of Neural Injury and Repair, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders; Department of Spinal and Neural Functional Reconstruction, China Rehabilitation Research Center; Beijing Key Laboratory of Neural Injury and Rehabilitation, Beijing, China.
Neural Regen Res. 2020 Feb;15(2):212-221. doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.265560.
Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are a type of RNA that is not translated into proteins. Transfer RNAs (tRNAs), a type of ncRNA, are the second most abundant type of RNA in cells. Recent studies have shown that tRNAs can be cleaved into a heterogeneous population of ncRNAs with lengths of 18-40 nucleotides, known as tRNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs). There are two main types of tsRNA, based on their length and the number of cleavage sites that they contain: tRNA-derived fragments and tRNA-derived stress-induced RNAs. These RNA species were first considered to be byproducts of tRNA random cleavage. However, mounting evidence has demonstrated their critical functional roles as regulatory factors in the pathophysiological processes of various diseases, including neurological diseases. However, the underlying mechanisms by which tsRNAs affect specific cellular processes are largely unknown. Therefore, this study comprehensively summarizes the following points: (1) The biogenetics of tsRNA, including their discovery, classification, formation, and the roles of key enzymes. (2) The main biological functions of tsRNA, including its miRNA-like roles in gene expression regulation, protein translation regulation, regulation of various cellular activities, immune mediation, and response to stress. (3) The potential mechanisms of pathophysiological changes in neurological diseases that are regulated by tsRNA, including neurodegeneration and neurotrauma. (4) The identification of the functional diversity of tsRNA may provide valuable information regarding the physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms of neurological disorders, thus providing a new reference for the clinical treatment of neurological diseases. Research into tsRNAs in neurological diseases also has the following challenges: potential function and mechanism studies, how to accurately quantify expression, and the exact relationship between tsRNA and miRNA. These challenges require future research efforts.
非编码RNA（ncRNAs）是一类不会被翻译成蛋白质的RNA。转运RNA（tRNAs）是ncRNA的一种，是细胞中第二丰富的RNA类型。最近的研究表明，tRNAs可以被切割成长度为18 - 40个核苷酸的异质性ncRNA群体，称为tRNA衍生的小RNA（tsRNAs）。根据其长度和所含切割位点的数量，tsRNA主要有两种类型：tRNA衍生片段和tRNA衍生的应激诱导RNA。这些RNA种类最初被认为是tRNA随机切割的副产物。然而，越来越多的证据表明它们在包括神经疾病在内的各种疾病的病理生理过程中作为调节因子发挥着关键的功能作用。然而，tsRNAs影响特定细胞过程的潜在机制在很大程度上尚不清楚。因此，本研究全面总结了以下几点：（1）tsRNA的生物发生，包括它们的发现、分类、形成以及关键酶的作用。（2）tsRNA的主要生物学功能，包括其在基因表达调控、蛋白质翻译调控、各种细胞活动调控、免疫介导和应激反应中类似miRNA的作用。（3）tsRNA调控的神经疾病病理生理变化的潜在机制，包括神经退行性变和神经创伤。（4）tsRNA功能多样性的鉴定可能为神经疾病的生理和病理生理机制提供有价值的信息，从而为神经疾病的临床治疗提供新的参考。神经疾病中tsRNAs的研究也面临以下挑战：潜在功能和机制研究、如何准确量化表达以及tsRNA与miRNA的确切关系。这些挑战需要未来的研究努力。
