title: Regulation of Neuronal Cell Cycle and Apoptosis by MicroRNA 34a.
abstract: The cell cycle of neurons remains suppressed to maintain the state of differentiation and aberrant cell cycle reentry results in loss of neurons, which is a feature in neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease (AD). Present studies revealed that the expression of microRNA 34a (miR-34a) needs to be optimal in neurons, as an aberrant increase or decrease in its expression causes apoptosis. miR-34a keeps the neuronal cell cycle under check by preventing the expression of cyclin D1 and promotes cell cycle arrest. Neurotoxic amyloid β1-42 peptide (Aβ42) treatment of cortical neurons suppressed miR-34a, resulting in unscheduled cell cycle reentry, which resulted in apoptosis. The repression of miR-34a was a result of degradation of TAp73, which was mediated by aberrant activation of the MEK extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway by Aβ42. A significant decrease in miR-34a and TAp73 was observed in the cortex of a transgenic (Tg) mouse model of AD, which correlated well with cell cycle reentry observed in the neurons of these animals. Importantly, the overexpression of TAp73α and miR-34a reversed cell cycle-related neuronal apoptosis (CRNA). These studies provide novel insights into how modulation of neuronal cell cycle machinery may lead to neurodegeneration and may contribute to the understanding of disorders like AD.
authors.affiliation: Eukaryotic Gene Expression Laboratory, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Prashant Kumar
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Modi
authors.affiliation: Eukaryotic Gene Expression Laboratory, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Surbhi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jaiswal
authors.affiliation: Eukaryotic Gene Expression Laboratory, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, India pushkar@nii.ac.in.
authors.forename: Pushkar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics*; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000235:genetics*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D048049:Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: C560944:MIRN34 microRNA, rat; C551848:MIRN34a microRNA, mouse; D035683:MicroRNAs; D048049:Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases