The roles of microRNAs in spinal cord injury

ABSTRACT

Background and purpose: Spinal cord injury (SCI) involves serious damage that can result in abnormal or absent motor and sensory functions and a disruption of autonomic function, and a series of pathological reactions occur after the injury. As a type of small non-coding RNA, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been verified to inhibit gene expression via post-transcriptional regulation. This review mainly focuses on recent advances regarding the roles of miRNAs following SCI. Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were adopted. The studies regarding the roles of miRNAs following SCI were identified through PubMed, Embase and Web of Science. We summarise the changes in expression levels of miRNAs and discuss the roles of miRNAs after SCI. Results: A total of 77 empirical studies meeting the inclusion criteria were identified. Existing studies showed that miRNAs were temporally altered and had effects on apoptosis, inflammation, angiogenesis, astrogliosis, oligodendrocyte development, axonal regeneration and remyelination after SCI. The alteration of miRNAs and the regulative action of pathological reactions can also provide opportunities for potential therapeutic interventions. “miRNA replacement therapy” aims to transfer miRNAs into diseased cells via delivery techniques and improve targeting effectiveness in cells, and this novel therapeutic tool provides a promising technique to promote the repair of SCI and reduces functional deficits. Conclusions: This review is helpful for understanding the underlying mechanisms of SCI and the potential clinical value of miRNAs. miRNAs have the potential to be attractive tools and targets for novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches of SCI.

KEYWORDS:

• microRNAs
• spinal cord injury
• therapeutics
• review

Acknowledgments

Zhongju Shi is thankful to Jianxin Ren for her continuous support and encouragement.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interests.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 81501899]; the State Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 81330042]; the International Cooperation Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 81620108018]; the Special Program for Sino-Russian Joint Research Sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology, China [grant number 2014DFR31210]; the Key Program Sponsored by the Tianjin Science and Technology Committee, China [grant number 13RCGFSY19000], [grant number 14ZCZDSY00044]; the Science Foundation of Tianjin Medical University for Young Scholar [grant number 2014KYQ01]; the Tianjin Medical University General Hospital Funding [grant number ZYYFY2014037].