Title:Current Updates on the Role of MicroRNA in the Diagnosis and
Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Volume: 24
Issue: 2
Author(s): Ammara Saleem*, Maira Javed, Muhammad Furqan Akhtar*, Ali Sharif, Bushra Akhtar, Muhammad Naveed, Uzma Saleem, Mirza Muhammad Faran Ashraf Baig, Hafiz Muhammad Zubair, Talha Bin Emran, Mohammad Saleem and Ghulam Md Ashraf*
Affiliation:
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Government College University Faisalabad,
Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan
- Riphah Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Riphah International University, Lahore
Campus, Lahore, 5400, Pakistan
- Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, University of
Sharjah, College of Health Sciences, and Research Institute for Medical and Health Sciences, Sharjah 27272, UAE
Keywords:
MicroRNA, neurodegenerative diseases, anti-miRNA, neuroinflammation, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease.
Abstract:
Background: MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small noncoding RNAs that play a significant
role in the regulation of gene expression. The literature has explored the key involvement of miRNAs
in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of various neurodegenerative diseases (NDD),
such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and Huntington’s disease (HD). The
miRNA regulates various signalling pathways; its dysregulation is involved in the pathogenesis of
NDD.
Objective: The present review is focused on the involvement of miRNAs in the pathogenesis of
NDD and their role in the treatment or management of NDD. The literature provides comprehensive
and cutting-edge knowledge for students studying neurology, researchers, clinical psychologists,
practitioners, pathologists, and drug development agencies to comprehend the role of miRNAs
in the NDD’s pathogenesis, regulation of various genes/signalling pathways, such as α-synuclein,
P53, amyloid-β, high mobility group protein (HMGB1), and IL-1β, NMDA receptor signalling,
cholinergic signalling, etc.
Methods: The issues associated with using anti-miRNA therapy are also summarized in this review.
The data for this literature were extracted and summarized using various search engines,
such as Google Scholar, Pubmed, Scopus, and NCBI using different terms, such as NDD, PD,
AD, HD, nanoformulations of mRNA, and role of miRNA in diagnosis and treatment.
Results: The miRNAs control various biological actions, such as neuronal differentiation, synaptic
plasticity, cytoprotection, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis and chaperone-mediated
autophagy, and neurite growth in the central nervous system and diagnosis. Various miRNAs
are involved in the regulation of protein aggregation in PD and modulating β-secretase activity in
AD. In HD, mutation in the huntingtin (Htt) protein interferes with Ago1 and Ago2, thus affecting
the miRNA biogenesis. Currently, many anti-sense technologies are in the research phase for either
inhibiting or promoting the activity of miRNA.
Conclusion: This review provides new therapeutic approaches and novel biomarkers for the diagnosis
and prognosis of NDDs by using miRNA.
