Carrella Sabrina, Banfi Sandro, Karali Marianthi
Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM), Pozzuoli, Italy.
Medical Genetics, Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy.
Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 Jan 18;8:629158. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2020.629158. eCollection 2020.
Photoreceptors (PRs) are specialized neuroepithelial cells of the retina responsible for sensory transduction of light stimuli. In the highly structured vertebrate retina, PRs have a highly polarized modular structure to accommodate the demanding processes of phototransduction and the visual cycle. Because of their function, PRs are exposed to continuous cellular stress. PRs are therefore under pressure to maintain their function in defiance of constant environmental perturbation, besides being part of a highly sophisticated developmental process. All this translates into the need for tightly regulated and responsive molecular mechanisms that can reinforce transcriptional programs. It is commonly accepted that regulatory non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), and in particular microRNAs (miRNAs), are not only involved but indeed central in conferring robustness and accuracy to developmental and physiological processes. Here we integrate recent findings on the role of regulatory ncRNAs (e.g., miRNAs, lncRNAs, circular RNAs, and antisense RNAs), and of their contribution to PR pathophysiology. We also outline the therapeutic implications of translational studies that harness ncRNAs to prevent PR degeneration and promote their survival and function.
光感受器（PRs）是视网膜特化的神经上皮细胞，负责光刺激的感觉转导。在高度结构化的脊椎动物视网膜中，PRs具有高度极化的模块化结构，以适应光转导和视觉循环的严格过程。由于其功能，PRs会受到持续的细胞应激。因此，PRs除了是高度复杂的发育过程的一部分外，还面临着在不断的环境扰动下维持其功能的压力。所有这些都转化为对能够加强转录程序的严格调控和响应性分子机制的需求。人们普遍认为，调控性非编码RNA（ncRNAs），特别是微小RNA（miRNAs），不仅参与而且在赋予发育和生理过程稳健性和准确性方面起着核心作用。在这里，我们整合了关于调控性ncRNAs（如miRNAs、lncRNAs、环状RNAs和反义RNAs）的作用及其对PR病理生理学贡献的最新研究结果。我们还概述了利用ncRNAs预防PR变性并促进其存活和功能的转化研究的治疗意义。
