Axotomy-induced miR-21 promotes axon growth in adult dorsal root ganglion neurons

IT Strickland, FE Holmes, LJ Richards, D Wynick, JB Uney, LF Wong

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

148 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Following injury, dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons undergo transcriptional changes so as to adopt phenotypic changes that promote cell survival and axonal regeneration. Here we used a microarray approach to profile changes in a population of small noncoding RNAs known as microRNAs (miRNAs) in the L4 and L5 DRG following sciatic nerve transection. Results showed that 20 miRNA transcripts displayed a significant change in expression levels, with 8 miRNAs transcripts being altered by more than 1.5-fold. Using quantitative reverse transcription PCR, we demonstrated that one of these miRNAs, miR-21, was upregulated by 7-fold in the DRG at 7 days post-axotomy. In dissociated adult rat DRG neurons lentiviral vector-mediated overexpression of miR-21 promoted neurite outgrowth on a reduced laminin substrate. miR-21 directly downregulated expression of Sprouty2 protein, as confirmed by Western blot analysis and 3′ untranslated region (UTR) luciferase assays. Our data show that miR-21 is an axotomy-induced miRNA that enhances axon growth, and suggest that miRNAs are important players in regulating growth pathways following peripheral nerve injury.
Translated title of the contributionAxotomy-induced miR-21 promotes axon growth in adult dorsal root ganglion neurons
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)e23423 - e23423
Number of pages8
JournalPLoS ONE
Volume6
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Aug 2011

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  • RCUK FELLOW

    Ulcigrai, C. (Principal Investigator)

    1/08/071/08/12

    Project: Research

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