The role of miRNA in retinal ganglion cell health and disease

Abstract

miRNA are short non-coding RNA responsible for the knockdown of proteins through their targeting and silencing of complimentary mRNA sequences. The miRNA landscape of a cell thus affects the levels of its proteins and has significant consequences to its health. Deviations in this miRNA landscape have been implicated in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases and have also garnered interest as targets for treatment. Retinal ganglion cells are the sole projection neuron of the retina with their axons making up the optic nerve. They are a focus of study not only for their importance in vision and the myriad of blinding diseases characterized by their dysfunction and loss, but also as a model of other central nervous system diseases such as spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury. This review summarizes current knowledge on the role of miRNA in retinal ganglion cell function, highlighting how perturbations can result in disease, and how modulating their abundance may provide a novel avenue of therapeutic research.

The molecular mechanism of human stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles in retinal repair and regeneration

“…Overall, stem cell-derived EVs promote cell proliferation, resist apoptosis, suppress inflammatory responses, repair retinal structures, and restore visual capacity in various retinal disease models. Most studies on retinal damage repair by stem cell-derived EVs have shown that miRNAs mainly mediate the molecular mechanisms underlying the actions of stem cell-derived EVs [ 55 , 56 ]. Ben Mead et al knocked down Argonaute-2, a key miRNA effector molecule, in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and implanted BMSC-derived EVs (BMSC-EVs) into the eyes of optic nerve crush model mice [ 57 ].…”

Extracellular vesicles as a new horizon in the diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory eye diseases: A narrative review of the literature

“…Optic neuropathy is a condition characterized by damage to the optic nerve, composed of axons of neural cells known as RGCs ( 178 ). Optic neuropathy is commonly associated with optic neuritis and ischemic optic neuropathy, which may lead to permanent visual loss ( 179 ).…”

“…The miRNAs are essential factors that regulate the regeneration and protection of RGCs and the induction of inflammation ( 178 ). Furthermore, secretomes derived from stem cells and amnion cells showed promising effects on optic neuropathies ( 188 – 190 ).…”

A universal orthogonal imaging platform for living-cell RNA detection using fluorogenic RNA aptamers

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Dysregulation of miRNAs has been implicated in multiple diseases, including but not limited to lung, cervical, and breast cancers. 6,9,10 Owing to their compact size (19-24 nucleotides) and comparatively more straightforward biological processes than proteins and DNA, 11,12 miRNAs are considered valuable biomarkers for disease diagnosis and therapy targets. [13][14][15][16][17] However, traditional miRNA analysis methods, such as those involving uorescent hybridization probes (including electrochemical [18][19][20] and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) 21 approaches) and MS2 RNA binding protein-uorescent protein systems, [22][23][24][25][26][27] have limitations in terms of probe degradation, delivery challenges, complex kinetics, [21][22][23][24] and inability to visualize multiple miRNA targets in a single cell, hindering their effectiveness.…”