title: MiR-26a promotes neurite outgrowth by repressing PTEN expression.
abstract: A multitude of studies have reported that microRNAs (miRNAs) are important in neuronal development. As a key regulator altering the expression of certain mRNAs, miR-26a has been demonstrated to play a role in the central nervous system (CNS). In the current study, the function of miR-26a in neuronal development was investigated. The overexpression of miR-26a was hypothesized to significantly enhance synaptic plasticity and regulate neuronal morphogenesis. The number and distribution of neurites was markedly increased by miR-26a. In addition, inhibition of miR-26a function attenuated neuronal outgrowth. Furthermore, phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) was identified as a direct target of miR-26a in this process via a luciferase reporter assay. The growth of neurites was consistently suppressed by PTEN overexpression. Therefore, our study demonstrated that miR-26a promoted neurite outgrowth via the suppression of PTEN expression, indicating that miR-26a is important in neuronal development and morphogenesis. miR-26a has the potential to serve as a therapeutic target for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).
authors.affiliation: Institute of Genomic Medicine, College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510632, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Baoguo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hanxiao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D015870:Gene Expression; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016501:Neurites / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D034622:RNA Interference; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D035683:MicroRNAs; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase