Tolerance represents a critical component of addiction. The large-conductance calcium- and voltage-activated potassium channel (BK) is a well-established alcohol target, and an important element in behavioral and molecular alcohol tolerance. We tested whether microRNA, a newly discovered class of gene expression regulators, plays a role in the development of tolerance. We show that in adult mam...

Background: microRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that can ignite the degradation of mRNAs or inhibit protein translation and therefore essential for several physiological pathological functions. miRNAs regulate up to 60 % human mRNA, including genes related cartilage development, homeostasis, OA pathology. For example, miR-9 inhibits matrix metalloproteinase 13 miR-140 expression level ...

The regulative effects of microRNAs (miRNAs) on responses of Schwann cells to a nerve injury stimulus are not yet clear. In this study, we noted that the expression of eight miRNAs was downregulated at different time points following rat sciatic nerve transection, and found that 368 potential targets of these eight miRNAs were mainly involved in phenotypic modulation of Schwann cells. Of these ...

Tumor growth generates mechanical compression, which may trigger mechanotransduction in cancer and stromal cells and promote tumor progression. However, very little is known about how compression stimulates signal transduction and contributes to tumor progression. In the present study, we demonstrated that compression enhances a tumor progression phenotype using an in vitro compression model, a...

Throughout life, adult neural stem cells (NSCs) produce new neurons and glia that contribute to crucial brain functions. Quiescence is an essential protective feature of adult NSCs; however, the establishment and maintenance of this state remain poorly understood. We demonstrate that in the adult zebrafish pallium, the brain-enriched miR-9 is expressed exclusively in a subset of quiescent NSCs,...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in modulating gene expression at the posttranscriptional level. In postnatal oligodendrocyte lineage cells, the miRNA expression profile ("microRNAome") contains 43 miRNAs whose expression dynamically changes during the transition from A2B5(+) oligodendrocyte progenitor cells to premyelinating GalC(+) cells. The combination of microRNAome profiling with a...

Neural progenitors self-renew and generate neurons throughout the central nervous system. Here, we uncover an unexpected regional specificity in the properties of neural progenitor cells, revealed by the function of a microRNA--miR-9. miR-9 is expressed in neural progenitors, and its knockdown results in an inhibition of neurogenesis along the anterior-posterior axis. However, the underlying me...

BACKGROUND Excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins is the hallmark of fibrotic diseases, including skin fibrosis. This response relies on the activation of dermal fibroblasts that evolve into a pro-fibrogenic phenotype. One of the major players in this process is the cytokine transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that post-trans...

In the recent years deregulation for microRNAs expression pattern have emerged as a possible molecular factor for carcinogenesis. It has been reported that the expression of miR-9 was down-regulated in human gastric adenocarcinoma. To figure out the molecular mechanism of this down regulation, the methylation status in promoters of miR-9 family loci were compared in the human gastric adenocarci...

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) have great therapeutic potential for many diseases. However, the homing of BMSCs to injury sites remains a difficult problem. Recent evidence indicates that simvastatin stimulates AKT phosphorylation, and p-AKT affects the expression of chemokine (CXC motif) receptor-4 (CXCR4). Therefore, simvastatin may improve the expression of CXCR4 in BMSCs...