MicroRNA-9 controls dendritic development by targeting REST

GIUSTI SA; VOGL AM; BROCKMANN MM; VERCELLI CA; REIN ML; TRUMBACH D; WURST W; CAZALLA D; STEIN V; DEUSSING JM; REFOJO D

eLIFE

eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd

Año: 2014

2050-084X

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are conserved noncoding RNAs that function as posttranscriptional regulators of gene expression. MiR-9 is one of the most abundant miRNAs in the brain. Although the function of miR-9 has been well-characterized in neural progenitors, its role in dendritic and synaptic development remains largely unknown. In order to target miR-9 in vivo, we developed a transgenic miRNA-sponge mouse line allowing conditional inactivation of the miR-9 family in a spatio-temporal-controlled manner. Using this novel approach we found that miR-9 controls dendritic growth and synaptic transmission in vivo. Furthermore, we demonstrate that miR-9-mediated downregulation of the transcriptional repressor REST is essential for proper dendritic growth.