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Review
. 2017 May 1;10(5):509-518.
doi: 10.1242/dmm.028613.

RNA metabolism in neurodegenerative disease

Elaine Y Liu  1 , Christopher P Cali  1 , Edward B Lee  2
Affiliations
Review

RNA metabolism in neurodegenerative disease

Elaine Y Liu et al. Dis Model Mech. .

Abstract

Aging-related neurodegenerative diseases are progressive and fatal neurological diseases that are characterized by irreversible neuron loss and gliosis. With a growing population of aging individuals, there is a pressing need to better understand the basic biology underlying these diseases. Although diverse disease mechanisms have been implicated in neurodegeneration, a common theme of altered RNA processing has emerged as a unifying contributing factor to neurodegenerative disease. RNA processing includes a series of distinct processes, including RNA splicing, transport and stability, as well as the biogenesis of non-coding RNAs. Here, we highlight how some of these mechanisms are altered in neurodegenerative disease, including the mislocalization of RNA-binding proteins and their sequestration induced by microsatellite repeats, microRNA biogenesis alterations and defective tRNA biogenesis, as well as changes to long-intergenic non-coding RNAs. We also highlight potential therapeutic interventions for each of these mechanisms.

Keywords: Disease; Microsatellite repeats; RNA; RNA binding proteins; lncRNA; miRNA; tRNA.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing or financial interests.

Figures

None
A high-resolution version of the poster is available for downloading at http://dmm.biologists.org/lookup/doi/10.1242/dmm.028613.supplemental.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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