CHAPEL HILL– A team led by scientists at the UNC School of Medicine identified a molecule called microRNA-29 as a powerful controller of brain maturation in
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Microrna-29 molecule controls brain maturation in mammals
A team led by scientists at the UNC School of Medicine identified a molecule called microRNA-29 as a powerful controller of brain maturation in mammals. Deleting microRNA-29 in mice caused problems very similar to those seen in autism, epilepsy, and other neurodevelopmental conditions.
The results, published in
Cell Reports, illuminate an important process in the normal maturation of the brain and point to the possibility that disrupting this process could contribute to multiple human brain diseases.
We think abnormalities in microRNA-29 activity are likely to be a common theme in neurodevelopmental disorders and even in ordinary behavioral differences in individuals.Our work suggests that boosting levels of miR-29, perhaps even by delivering it directly, could lead to a therapeutic strategy for neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.
MicroRNA Found to Control Late-Stage Brain Development
April 8, 2021
Right, miRNA29-deficient mice showing a marked increase in the important enzyme DNMT3A (bright light blue). [Deshmukh Lab, UNC School of Medicine]
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The development of the brain during embryonic growth has garnered much attention from the neuroscience research community. However, the events that occur in the maturing brain after birth are less well understood. Now, a team has identified the microRNA-29 family to be “strikingly induced” during the late stages of brain maturation. In addition, they found that deleting microRNA-29 in mice caused problems very similar to those seen in autism, epilepsy, and other neurodevelopmental conditions. This work illuminates an important process in the normal maturation of the brain and points to the possibility that disrupting this process could contribute to multiple human brain diseases.
UNC scientists identify a molecule as powerful controller of brain maturation in mammals
A team led by scientists at the UNC School of Medicine identified a molecule called microRNA-29 as a powerful controller of brain maturation in mammals. Deleting microRNA-29 in mice caused problems very similar to those seen in autism, epilepsy, and other neurodevelopmental conditions.
The results, published in
Cell Reports, illuminate an important process in the normal maturation of the brain and point to the possibility that disrupting this process could contribute to multiple human brain diseases.
We think abnormalities in microRNA-29 activity are likely to be a common theme in neurodevelopmental disorders and even in ordinary behavioral differences in individuals. Our work suggests that boosting levels of miR-29, perhaps even by delivering it directly, could lead to a therapeutic strategy for neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.