Functional roles and networks of non-coding RNAs in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases

• Published in: Journal of biomedical science Vol. 27; no. 1; pp. 49 - 23
• Main Authors: Wu, Yi-Ying, Kuo, Hung-Chih
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 07.04.2020; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Alzheimer's disease; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Analysis; Animal models; Antisense therapy; Apoptosis; Binding sites; Biomarkers; Central nervous system (CNS); Development and progression; Diagnostic systems; Disease; Drug development; Etiology; Gene expression; Life span; Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs); Mammalian cells; MicroRNA; MicroRNAs; MicroRNAs (miRNAs); miRNA; Motor neuron diseases; Motor neurone disease; Movement disorders; Mutation; Nervous system diseases; Networks; Neurodegeneration; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neurons; Non-coding RNA; Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs); Parkinson's disease; Pathogenesis; Phenotypes; Proteins; Review; Senile plaques; Synuclein; Tau protein; Therapeutics; Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs); Alzheimer’s disease (AD); MicroRNAs (miRNAs); Motor neuron diseases; Neurodegenerative diseases; Huntington’s disease (HD); Parkinson’s disease (PD); Central nervous system (CNS); Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs)
• ISSN: 1423-0127; 1021-7770; 1423-0127
• DOI: 10.1186/s12929-020-00636-z

Recent transcriptome analyses have revealed that noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) are broadly expressed in mammalian cells and abundant in the CNS, with tissue and cell type-specific expression patterns. Moreover, ncRNAs have been found to intricately and dynamically regulate various signaling pathways in neurodegeneration. As such, some antisense transcripts and microRNAs are known to directly affect neurodegeneration in disease contexts. The functions of ncRNAs in pathogenesis are unique for each disorder, as are the pertinent networks of ncRNA/miRNA/mRNA that mediate these functions. Thus, further understanding of ncRNA biogenesis and effects might aid the discovery of diagnostic biomarkers or development of effective therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we review the ncRNAs that have so far been identified in major neurodegenerative disease etiology and the mechanisms that link ncRNAs with disease-specific phenotypes, such as HTT aggregation in HD, α-synuclein in PD, and Aβ plaques and hyperphosphorylated Tau in AD. We also summarize the known lncRNA/miRNA/mRNA networks that participate in neurodegenerative diseases, and we discuss ncRNA-related treatments shown to delay disease onset and prolong lifespan in rodent models.