The Role of Noncoding RNAs in Neurodevelopmental Disorders: The Case of Rett Syndrome

Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
Aida Obiols-Guardia, Sònia Guil

Abstract

Current technologies have demonstrated that only a small fraction of our genes encode for protein products. The vast majority of the human transcriptome corresponds to noncoding RNA (ncRNA) of different size, localization, and expression profile. Despite the fact that a biological function remains yet to be determined for most ncRNAs, growing evidence points to their crucial regulatory roles at all stages in gene expression regulation, including transcriptional and posttranscriptional control, so that proper cell homeostasis seems to depend largely on a variety of ncRNA-mediated regulatory networks. This is particularly relevant in the human brain, which displays the richest repertoire of ncRNA species, and where several different ncRNA molecules are known to be involved in crucial steps for brain development and maturation. Rett syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by loss of function mutations in the X-linked gene encoding for methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2). MECP2 deficiency impacts globally on gene expression programs, mainly through its role as a transcriptional repressor, and growing data also points to an important dysregulation of the noncoding transcriptome in the disease. Here, we review the cu...Continue Reading

Citations

Dec 12, 2019·Frontiers in Genetics·Shuang-Feng ZhangChang-Mei Liu

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

CREs: Gene & Cell Therapy

Gene and cell therapy advances have shown promising outcomes for several diseases. The role of cis-regulatory elements (CREs) is crucial in the design of gene therapy vectors. Here is the latest research on CREs in gene and cell therapy.