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Review
. 2009:2009:654346.
doi: 10.1155/2009/654346. Epub 2009 Oct 13.

MicroRNA implications across neurodevelopment and neuropathology

Sabata Martino  1 , Ilaria di Girolamo, Antonio Orlacchio, Alessandro Datti, Aldo Orlacchio
Affiliations
Review

MicroRNA implications across neurodevelopment and neuropathology

Sabata Martino et al. J Biomed Biotechnol. 2009.

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have rapidly emerged as biologically important mediators of posttranscriptional and epigenetic regulation in both plants and animals. miRNAs function through a variety of mechanisms including mRNA degradation and translational repression; additionally, miRNAs may guide gene expression by serving as transcription factors. miRNAs are highly expressed in human brain. Tissue and cell type-specific enrichments of certain miRNAs within the nervous system argue for a biological significance during neurodevelopmental stages. On the other hand, a large number of studies have reported links between alterations of miRNA homeostasis and pathologic conditions such as cancer, heart diseases, and neurodegeneration. Thus, profiles of distinct or aberrant miRNA signatures have most recently surged as one of the most fascinating interests in current biology. Here, the most recent insights into the involvement of miRNAs in the biology of the nervous system and the occurrence of neuropathological disorders are reviewed and discussed.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The biogenesis of miRNAs. Shown are the key steps of miRNA biogenesis in mammalian cells (reviewed in [14, 15]).
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