Gurwitz David
Author affiliations: Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler Faculty of Medicine; Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel. Address for correspondence: David Gurwitz, Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978 Israel. (email:
Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2019;21(2):131-148. doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2019.21.2/dgurwitz.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, noncoding RNAs functioning as regulators of the transcription of protein-coding genes in eukaryotes. During the last two decades, studies on miRNAs indicate that they have potential as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for a wide range of cancers. Research interest in miRNAs has moved to embrace further medical disciplines, including neuropsychiatric disorders, comparing miRNA expression and mRNA targets between patient and control blood samples and postmortem brain tissues, as well as in animal models of neuropsychiatric disorders. This manuscript reviews recent findings on miRNAs implicated in the pathology of mood disorders, schizophrenia, and autism, as well as their diagnostic potential, and their potential as tentative targets for future therapeutics. The plausible contribution of X chromosome miRNAs to the larger prevalence of major depression among women is also evaluated. .
微小RNA(miRNA)是短链非编码RNA,在真核生物中作为蛋白质编码基因转录的调节因子发挥作用。在过去二十年中,对miRNA的研究表明,它们有潜力作为多种癌症的诊断和预后生物标志物。对miRNA的研究兴趣已扩展到其他医学领域,包括神经精神疾病,比较患者与对照血液样本及死后脑组织之间的miRNA表达和mRNA靶标,以及在神经精神疾病动物模型中的研究。本文综述了近期关于miRNA与情绪障碍、精神分裂症和自闭症病理学相关的研究发现,以及它们的诊断潜力和作为未来治疗暂定靶点的潜力。还评估了X染色体miRNA对女性中重度抑郁症患病率较高的可能作用。