title: MicroRNA-9: functional evolution of a conserved small regulatory RNA.
abstract: The functional significance of microRNA-9 (miR-9) during evolution is evidenced by its conservation at the nucleotide level from flies to humans but not its diverse expression patterns. Recent studies in several model systems reveal that miR-9 can regulate neurogenesis through its actions in neural or non-neural cell lineages. In vertebrates, miR-9 exerts diverse cell-autonomous effects on the proliferation, migration, and differentiation of neural progenitor cells by modulating different mRNA targets. In some developmental contexts, miR-9 suppresses apoptosis and is misregulated in several types of cancer cells, influencing proliferation or metastasis formation. Moreover, downregulation of miR-9 in postmitotic neurons is also implicated in some neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, miR-9 is emerging as an important regulator in development and disease through its ability to modulate different targets in a manner dependent on the developmental stage and the cellular context.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Yeliz
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuva-Aydemir
authors.forename: Alfred
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Simkin
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gascon
authors.forename: Fen-Biao
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000235:genetics; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000235:genetics; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C541874:MIRN92 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs