IMR Press / JIN / Volume 22 / Issue 2 / DOI: 10.31083/j.jin2202045
Open Access Original Research
MiRNA-1976 Regulates the Apoptosis of Dopaminergic Neurons by Targeting the PINK1 Gene
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1 Cerebrovascular Disease Center, Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, 210029 Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
2 Neonatal Medical Center, Children’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 210008 Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
3 Department of Clinical Laboratory, Children’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 210008 Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
*Correspondence: qiufeng11@sina.com (Feng Qiu)
These authors contributed equally.
J. Integr. Neurosci. 2023, 22(2), 45; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.jin2202045
Submitted: 6 August 2022 | Revised: 23 September 2022 | Accepted: 29 October 2022 | Published: 22 February 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Parkinson's Disease)
Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Introduction: Parkinson’s disease (PD), which is a neurodegenerative disease, requires urgently needed biomarkers to explore its mechanism. We screened for differences in the expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) and identified miR-1976 as a possible biomarker. Methods: Twenty-three patients and 30 controls were included in this study. Dopaminergic neurons from C57/BL mice were cultured. The miRNA expression profiles were analyzed using an miRNA microarray. MiR-1976 was identified as an miRNA that was differentially expressed between PD patients and age-matched controls. Lentiviral vectors were constructed, then apoptosis in dopaminergic neurons was analyzed using MTS (multicellular tumor spheroids) and flow cytometry. Transfection of miR-1976 mimics into MES23.5 cells was performed, and target genes and biological effects were analyzed. Results: Overexpression of miR-1976 increased apoptosis and mitochondrial damage in dopaminergic neurons. PINK1 (PINK1-induced kinase 1) was the most common target protein of miR-1976, and silencing of PINK1 caused mitochondrial damage and increased apoptosis of MES23.5 cells. Conclusions: MiR-1976 is a newly discovered miRNA that exhibits a high degree of differential expression with respect to the apoptosis of dopaminergic neurons. Given these results, increased expression of miR-1976 may increase the risk of PD by targeting PINK1 and may therefore be a useful biomarker for PD.

Keywords
Parkinson's disease
miR-1976
PINK1
biomarker
target protein
dopaminergic neuron
apoptosis
Funding
QRX17086/Nanjing Medical Science and technique Development Foundation
Figures
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