29,30 Among them, miRNAs are the most studied and well

characterized; they have emerged as a major regulator of neural plasticity and higher brain functioning,31,32 regulate about 60% of total mammalian RNAs, and are involved in virtually all biological functions. By modulating translation and/or stability of mRNA Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical targets in a coordinated and cohesive fashion, they are able to regulate entire genetic circuitries.33 It has been shown that a combination of miRNAs is a much more Selleck Afatinib powerful regulator than individual miRNAs. Interestingly, differential coexpression of a group of miRNAs has not only been shown to play a direct role in human disease pathogenesis, but can also help in identifying the nature of disordered pathways implicated in such pathogenesis.34-37 miRNAs are expressed highly in neurons, and because they can regulate the expression of a large number of target

mRNAs, neuronal miRNA pathways can create an extremely Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical powerful mechanism to dynamically adjust the protein content of neuronal compartments, even without the need for new gene transcription.38,39 miRNAs have been extensively studied in cancer biology; however, a large body of evidence demonstrates Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical their role in several neuropsychiatric diseases, such as schizophrenia, autism, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Tourette’s syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, DiGeorge syndrome, Down syndrome, and Alzheimer’s disease. Studies are now being geared to examine if Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical mutations in genes that encode miRNAs or

various components of miRNA biogenesis machinery can lead to aberrant miRNA synthesis and target genes that can be linked to specific disease pathophysiology. Knowledge of the role of miRNAs in MDD is still in its infancy; however, several lines of evidence clearly demonstrate that miRNAs may play a major role in the development of stress-related disorders, including MDD. The aim of this review is to critically evaluate the Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical role of miRNAs in MDD pathogenesis and examine whether miRNAs can be developed as biomarkers for depression. miRNA biogenesis and regulation of target mRNA expression An overview of miRNA biogenesis is depicted in Figure 1. As shown, miRNA biogenesis occurs in the nucleus. miRNAs are encoded within primary miRNA (primiRNA) gene transcripts that may be intergenic (away from Amisulpride known protein-coding genes) or may be located within introns of protein-coding host genes (intragenic). Figure 1. miRNA biogenesis. microRNAs (miRNAs) are encoded in the genome (inter or intragenis) and transcribed by RNA polymerase II (RNA pol II) to generate primary microRNA (pri-miRNA). These pri-miRNAs are taken up by the RNA II enzyme Drosha/DiGeorge syndrome … miRNA genes are transcribed to long primary miRNA by RNA polymerase II or III.