Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
7.8
5.6
Journals
IJMS
Special Issues
Non-Coding RNAs in Human Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Brain Disorders
ijms-logo
Submit to IJMS Review for IJMS Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Non-Coding RNAs in Human Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Brain Disorders

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Neurobiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 April 2023) | Viewed by 4730

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Cristina Barbagallo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
Interests: non-coding RNAs; microRNAs; uveal melanoma; colorectal cancer; exosomes; liquid biopsy; biomarker discovery
Dr. Marco Ragusa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Biology and Genetics G. Sichel, University of Catania, via Santa Sofia 87, 95123 Catania, Italy
Interests: noncoding RNAs; expression analysis; cell biology; circulating RNAs; exosomes; uveal melanoma; colon cancer; glioblastoma
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Initially considered as splicing errors or transcripts originating from “junk DNA”, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are now recognized as key actors of cellular physiology and pathology. The new millennium brought to light the existence of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs). The results of the Human Genome Project published in 2001 showed that about 85-90% of our genome is transcribed in RNA, even though only proteins cover about 1.2% of the entire genome. Since this groundbreaking discovery, various articles have reported on lncRNAs and circRNAs, showing that these molecules play a crucial role in cells as epigenetic regulators of almost all biological processes, similar to already known microRNAs (miRNAs). Several studies have shown that ncRNAs are dysregulated in pathological tissues and body fluids, paving the way to their application in clinical practice as therapeutic targets and diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers. This new field of research also extends to neurodevelopmental disorders and brain disorders, where ncRNAs have been identified as potential contributors to pathogenesis. This Special Issue will describe the current knowledge on ncRNAs (including miRNAs, lncRNAs, and circRNAs) in the onset and progression of neurodevelopmental disorders and brain disorders. We welcome research articles and reviews on altered expression in tissues or body fluids, polymorphisms, or splicing variants of ncRNAs that are associated with specific disorders.

Dr. Cristina Barbagallo
Dr. Marco Ragusa
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • non-coding RNAs
  • microRNAs
  • long non-coding RNAs
  • circular RNAs
  • neurodevelopment
  • biomarkers
  • polymorphisms

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

12 pages, 1865 KiB  
Article
Infant Saliva Levels of microRNA miR-151a-3p Are Associated with Risk for Neurodevelopmental Delay
by Steven D. Hicks and Alexandra Confair
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(2), 1476; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24021476 - 12 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1320
Abstract
Prompt recognition of neurodevelopmental delay is critical for optimizing developmental trajectories. Currently, this is achieved with caregiver questionnaires whose sensitivity and specificity can be limited by socioeconomic and cultural factors. This prospective study of 121 term infants tested the hypothesis that microRNA measurement [...] Read more.
Prompt recognition of neurodevelopmental delay is critical for optimizing developmental trajectories. Currently, this is achieved with caregiver questionnaires whose sensitivity and specificity can be limited by socioeconomic and cultural factors. This prospective study of 121 term infants tested the hypothesis that microRNA measurement could aid early recognition of infants at risk for neurodevelopmental delay. Levels of four salivary microRNAs implicated in childhood autism (miR-125a-5p, miR-148a-5p, miR-151a-3p, miR-28-3p) were measured at 6 months of age, and compared between infants who displayed risk for neurodevelopmental delay at 18 months (n = 20) and peers with typical development (n = 101), based on clinical evaluation aided by the Survey of Wellbeing in Young Children (SWYC). Accuracy of microRNAs for predicting neurodevelopmental concerns at 18 months was compared to the clinical standard (9-month SWYC). Infants with neurodevelopmental concerns at 18 months displayed higher levels of miR-125a-5p (d = 0.30, p = 0.018, adj p = 0.049), miR-151a-3p (d = 0.30, p = 0.017, adj p = 0.048), and miR-28-3p (d = 0.31, p = 0.014, adj p = 0.048). Levels of miR-151a-3p were associated with an 18-month SWYC score (R = −0.19, p = 0.021) and probability of neurodevelopmental delay at 18 months (OR = 1.91, 95% CI, 1.14–3.19). Salivary levels of miR-151a-3p enhanced predictive accuracy for future neurodevelopmental delay (p = 0.010, X2 = 6.71, AUC = 0.71) compared to the 9-month SWYC score alone (OR = 0.56, 95% CI, 0.20–1.58, AUC = 0.567). This pilot study provides evidence that miR-151a-3p may aid the identification of infants at risk for neurodevelopmental delay. External validation of these findings is necessary. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-Coding RNAs in Human Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Brain Disorders)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 1650 KiB  
Article
Dysregulation of miR-15a-5p, miR-497a-5p and miR-511-5p Is Associated with Modulation of BDNF and FKBP5 in Brain Areas of PTSD-Related Susceptible and Resilient Mice
by Oriana Maria Maurel, Sebastiano Alfio Torrisi, Cristina Barbagallo, Michele Purrello, Salvatore Salomone, Filippo Drago, Marco Ragusa and Gian Marco Leggio
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(10), 5157; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22105157 - 13 May 2021
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 2689
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder occurring in susceptible individuals following a traumatic event. Understanding the mechanisms subserving trauma susceptibility/resilience is essential to develop new effective treatments. Increasing evidence suggests that non-coding RNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs), may play a prominent [...] Read more.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder occurring in susceptible individuals following a traumatic event. Understanding the mechanisms subserving trauma susceptibility/resilience is essential to develop new effective treatments. Increasing evidence suggests that non-coding RNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs), may play a prominent role in mediating trauma susceptibility/resilience. In this study, we evaluated the transcriptional expression of two key PTSD-related genes (FKBP5 and BDNF) and the relative targeting miRNAs (miR-15a-5p, miR-497a-5p, miR-511-5p, let-7d-5p) in brain areas of PTSD-related susceptible and resilient mice identified through our recently developed mouse model of PTSD (arousal-based individual screening (AIS) model). We observed lower transcript levels of miR-15a-5p, miR-497a-5p, and miR-511a-5p in the hippocampus and hypothalamus of susceptible mice compared to resilient mice, suggesting that the expression of these miRNAs could discriminate the two different phenotypes of stress-exposed mice. These miRNA variations could contribute, individually or synergically, to the inversely correlated transcript levels of FKBP5 and BDNF. Conversely, in the medial prefrontal cortex, downregulation of miR-15a-5p, miR-511-5p, and let-7d-5p was observed both in susceptible and resilient mice, and not accompanied by changes in their mRNA targets. Furthermore, miRNA expression in the different brain areas correlated to stress-induced behavioral scores (arousal score, avoidance-like score, social memory score and PTSD-like score), suggesting a linear connection between miRNA-based epigenetic modulation and stress-induced phenotypes. Pathway analysis of a miRNA network showed a statistically significant enrichment of molecular processes related to PTSD and stress. In conclusion, our results indicate that PTSD susceptibility/resilience might be shaped by brain-area-dependent modulation of miRNAs targeting FKBP5, BDNF, and other stress-related genes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-Coding RNAs in Human Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Brain Disorders)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop