Depression is a common and debilitating illness. Although a great deal of research has been done in the area, its neurobiology remains unclear. MicroRNAs are 22 nucleotides long and usually prevent protein synthesis from mRNAs at several stages. Now it is clear that microRNAs play a key role in the pathophysiology of many diseases. They have the potential to regulate the expression of more than 10,000 genes. Thus, microRNAs have been widely investigated as they relate to both medical and psychiatric disorders. For major depression, microRNAs are targets for both pharmacological and biological treatments, disregulated in animal models of depression and the brains of depressed people, and are candidate biomarkers for depression.
Key words: microRNA, major depression, review
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