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Role of miR-146a in mouse brain development: relevance for developmental brain disorders

ABSTRACT: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. miRs are involved in a wide range of regulation networks, including those involved in brain development. We and other showed an upregulation of miR-146a in autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disability and epilepsy. Taking advantage of a mouse model constitutively inactivated for miR-146a, we investigated its functions during brain development using a combination of imaging, molecular, cell biology techniques and behavioral studies. We demonstrated that loss of miR-146a causes time and region specific expression defects in the mouse brain. Pyramidal and interneurons are the most severely affected cell types with deregulated pathways reflecting different stages of neuronal differentiation and synaptic maturation. We showed that absence of miR-146a impairs the balance between proliferation and differentiation of neural progenitors. We observed no difference in neither brain weight nor total volume but an increased hemispheric asymmetry of hippocampal volume. Lastly, impaired associative memory was also observed. Our results show that miR-146 is important for proper brain development and support the hypothesis that miR-146a deregulation may play a role in developmental brain disorders.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE114491 | GEO | 2019/06/01

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. miRNAs have emerged as important modulators of brain development and neuronal function and are implicated in several neurological diseases. Previous studies found miR-146a upregulation is the most common miRNA deregulation event in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD), epilepsy and intellectual disability (ID). Yet, how miR-146a upregulation affects the developing fetal brain remains unclear. Methods: We analyzed the expression of miR-146a in the temporal lobe of ASD children using Taqman assay. To assess the role of miR-146a in early brain development, we generated and characterized stably induced H9 human neural stem cell (H9 hNSC) overexpressing miR-146a using various cell and molecular biology techniques. Results: We first showed that miR-146a upregulation occurs early during childhood in the ASD brain. In H9 hNSC, miR-146a overexpression enhances neurite outgrowth and branching and favors differentiation into neuronal like cells. Expression analyses revealed that ten percent of the transcriptome was deregulated and organized into two modules critical for cell cycle control and neuronal differentiation. Twenty known or predicted targets of miR-146a were significantly deregulated in the modules, acting as potential drivers. The two modules also display distinct transcription profiles during human brain development, affecting regions relevant for ASD including the neocortex, amygdala and hippocampus. Cell type analyses indicate markers for pyramidal and interneurons are highly enriched in the deregulated gene list. Up to 40% of known markers of newly defined neuronal lineages were deregulated, suggesting that miR-146a could participate also in the acquisition of neuronal identities. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate the dynamic roles of miR-146a in early neuronal development and provide new insight into the molecular events that link miR146a overexpression to impaired neurodevelopment. This, in turn, may yield new therapeutic targets and strategies.

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Role of miR-146a in mouse brain development: relevance for developmental brain disorders

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