Characterization of miRNAs on neural development and plasticity

miRNAs通过抑制翻译或破坏mrna的稳定来调节蛋白质合成。它们在神经系统发育和功能中的作用尚不清楚。今年，我们发现了几个调节海马突触发育和功能的mirna。我们发现这些mirna的表达在活跃的突触发生期间受到调节。我们还搜索了受mirna调控的靶mrna。我们已经确定了这些miRNA各自的mRNA靶点，并证明了目标mRNA的表达水平与miRNA的表达水平呈负相关。此外，通过过表达和敲低方法，我们发现mirna对突触发育的调节是由它们的靶mrna介导的。这些发现表明，mirna在突触的发育中起着重要作用。

miRNAs regulate protein synthesis by suppressing translation or destabilizing mRNAs. Their role in the development and function of the nervous system is not well understood. In this year, we identified several miRNAs that regulates the development and function of synapses in the hippocampus. We found that expression of these miRNAs is regulated during the period of active synaptogenesis. We also searched for target mRNAs that are regulated by miRNAs. We have identified respective mRNA targets for these miRNAs and demonstrated that the expression level of target mRNAs inversely correlates with that of the miRNA. In addition, by using overexpression and knockdown approaches, we show that the regulation of miRNAs on synapse development is mediated by their target mRNAs. These findings indicate that miRNAs play important roles in the development of synapses.