MicroRNAs in brain development and cerebrovascular pathophysiology

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-1-2019

Publication Title

American journal of physiology. Cell physiology

E-ISSN

1522-1563

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of highly conserved non-coding RNAs with 21-25 nucleotides in length and play an important role in regulating gene expression at the posttranscriptional level via base-paring with complementary sequences of the 3'-untranslated region of the target gene mRNA, leading to either transcript degradation or translation inhibition. Brain-enriched miRNAs act as versatile regulators of brain development and function, including neural lineage and subtype determination, neurogenesis, synapse formation and plasticity, neural stem cell proliferation and differentiation, and responses to insults. Herein, we summarize the current knowledge regarding the role of miRNAs in brain development and cerebrovascular pathophysiology. We review recent progress of the miRNA-based mechanisms in neuronal and cerebrovascular development as well as their role in hypoxic-ischemic brain injury. These findings hold great promise, not just for deeper understanding of basic brain biology but also for building new therapeutic strategies for prevention and treatment of pathologies such as cerebral ischemia.

Volume

317

Issue

1

First Page

C3

Last Page

C19

DOI

10.1152/ajpcell.00022.2019

PubMed ID

30840494

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