John Kim ¹, Anna Krichevsky ², Yonatan Grad ³, Gabriel D. Hayes ¹, Kenneth S. Kosik ², George M. Church ³, and Gary Ruvkun ¹ ¶

¹ Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114;
² Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and
³ The Lipper Center for Computational Genetics, and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115

¶To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Department of Molecular Biology, Wellman 8, 50 Blossom Street, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114.

E-mail:  ruvkun@molbio.mgh.harvard.edu

Localized translation in mammalian dendrites may play a role in synaptic plasticity and contribute to the molecular basis for learning and memory. The regulatory mechanisms that control localized translation in neurons are not well understood. We propose a role for microRNAs (miRNAs), a class of noncoding RNAs, as mediators of neuronal translational regulation. We have identified 86 miRNAs expressed in mammalian neurons, of which 40 have not previously been reported. A subset of these miRNAs exhibits temporally regulated expression in cortical cultures. Moreover, all of the miRNAs that were tested cofractionate with polyribosomes, the sites of active translation. These findings indicate that a large, diverse population of miRNAs may function to regulate translation in mammalian neurons.

1. "Ultrastructural Probes of Active DNA Sites, and the RNA Activators of DNA".

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