Discovery notes
Synaptic enrichment of microRNAs in adult mouse forebrain is related to structural features of their precursors
-
Correspondence: Neil R Smalheiser neils@uic.edu
Department of Psychiatry and Psychiatric Institute, MC912, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1601 W. Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
Biology Direct 2008, 3:44 doi:10.1186/1745-6150-3-44
Published: 29 October 2008Abstract
Within mouse forebrain, a subset of microRNAs are significantly enriched in synaptoneurosomes (a synaptic fraction containing pinched-off dendritic spines) and a subset are significantly depleted relative to total forebrain homogenate. Here I show that, as a group, the pre-miR hairpin precursors of synaptically enriched microRNAs exhibit significantly different structural features than those that are non-enriched or depleted. Precursors of synaptically enriched microRNAs tend to have a) shorter uninterrupted double-stranded stem segments, and b) more symmetrical bulges containing a single nucleotide on each side. These structural differences may provide a basis for the differential binding of proteins that mediate dendritic transport of pre-miRs, or that prevent pre-miRs from being prematurely processed into mature miRNAs during the transport process.
Reviewers
This article was reviewed by I. King Jordan and Jerzy Jurka.