MicroRNA Biology and Function in the Nervous System

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are higly expressed in the mammalian nervous system and regulate neuronal gene expression during neurogenesis, neurodevelopment, differentiation, dendritic morphogenesis, synaptic plasticity, learning and memory. MiRNAs are spatially and temporally modulated in the nervous system and they exhibit context-dependent functions. MiRNAs often act through regulatory networks in specific cellular contexts and at specific times to ensure the progression through each biological state. MiRNAs are involved in local protein synthesis and contribute to synaptic plasticity by modulating dendritic mRNA translation at dendritic spines. Studies in animal models showed that RNA-induced silencing complexes (RISC) and specific miRNAs might be recruited in synaptic plasticity processes supporting learning, memory and cognition. Significant progress has been made in our understanding of miRNAs in the nervous system and it provide an encouraging starting point to investigate miRNA pathway involvement in the development and progression of neurological and psychiatric diseases and to search future therapeutic applications. Here we describe recent molecular and cellular neurobiological findings that highlight the role of miRNAs in the neuronal regulatory networks, which represent the exploration of a new frontier of miRNAs biology.