Sensational MicroRNAs: Neurosensory Roles of the MicroRNA-183 Family

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs, miRs) are short noncoding RNAs that act to repress expression of proteins from target mRNA transcripts. miRNAs influence many cellular processes including stemness, proliferation, differentiation, maintenance, and survival, and miRNA mutations or misexpression are associated with a variety of disease states. The miR-183 family gene cluster including miR-183, miR-96, and miR-182 is highly conserved among vertebrate and invertebrate organisms, and the miRNAs are coordinately expressed with marked specificity in sensory neurons and sensory epithelial cells. The crucial functions of these miRNAs in normal cellular processes are not yet fully understood, but expectedly dependent upon the transcriptomes of specific cell types at different developmental stages or in various maintenance circumstances. This article provides an overview of evidence supporting roles for miR-183 family members in normal biology of the nervous system, including mechanoreception for auditory and vestibular function, electroreception, chemoreception, photoreception, circadian rhythms, sensory ganglia and pain, and memory formation.