miR-29b is activated during neuronal maturation and targets BH3-only genes to restrict apoptosis
- 1Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA;
- 2Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
Abstract
The execution of apoptosis is critical for proper development of the nervous system. However, it is equally important that neurons strictly inhibit apoptosis after development to ensure their survival throughout the lifetime of the organism. Here we show that a microRNA, miR-29b, is markedly induced with neuronal maturation and functions as a novel inhibitor of neuronal apoptosis. The prosurvival function of miR-29b is mediated by targeting genes in the proapoptotic BH3-only family. Our results identify a unique strategy evolved by maturing neurons that uses a single microRNA to inhibit the multiple, redundant BH3-only proteins that are key initiators of apoptosis.
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Footnotes
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↵3 Corresponding author.
E-MAIL mohanish{at}med.unc.edu; FAX (919) 966-1050.
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Article is online at http://www.genesdev.org/cgi/doi/10.1101/gad.1975411.
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Supplemental material is available for this article.
- Received July 28, 2010.
- Accepted December 1, 2010.
- Copyright © 2011 by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press