Non-Coding RNAs as Regulators of Cellular Function and Disease

A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 214

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Guest Editor
Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (IPEK), Ludwig-Maximillians University, Pettenkoferstr. 9, 80336 Munich, Germany
Interests: atherosclerosis; non-coding RNAs; epigenetics; cardiovascular diseases
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have emerged as pivotal regulators of gene expression, influencing a myriad of cellular processes and contributing to the pathogenesis of various diseases. This Special Issue aims to delve into the multifaceted roles of ncRNAs, including microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and circular RNAs, in cellular function and disease mechanisms. We welcome original research articles and comprehensive reviews that shed light on the biogenesis, molecular mechanisms, and therapeutic potential of ncRNAs.

Dr. Lucia Natarelli
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • non-coding RNAs
  • gene regulation
  • disease mechanisms
  • therapeutic targets
  • molecular mechanisms

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 2609 KiB  
Article
MicroRNA210 Suppresses Mitochondrial Metabolism and Promotes Microglial Activation in Neonatal Hypoxic–Ischemic Brain Injury
by Shirley Hu, Yanelly Lopez-Robles, Guofang Shen, Elena Liu, Lubo Zhang and Qingyi Ma
Cells 2025, 14(15), 1202; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells14151202 - 5 Aug 2025
Abstract
Neuroinflammation is the major contributor to the pathology of neonatal hypoxic–ischemic (HI) brain injury. Our previous studies have demonstrated that microRNA210 (miR210) inhibition with antisense locked nucleic acid (LNA) inhibitor mitigates neuroinflammation and provides neuroprotection after neonatal HI insult. However, the underlying mechanisms [...] Read more.
Neuroinflammation is the major contributor to the pathology of neonatal hypoxic–ischemic (HI) brain injury. Our previous studies have demonstrated that microRNA210 (miR210) inhibition with antisense locked nucleic acid (LNA) inhibitor mitigates neuroinflammation and provides neuroprotection after neonatal HI insult. However, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. In the present study, using miR210 knockout (KO) mice and microglial cultures, we tested the hypothesis that miR210 promotes microglial activation and neuroinflammation through suppressing mitochondrial function in microglia after HI. Neonatal HI brain injury was conducted on postnatal day 9 (P9) wild-type (WT) and miR210 knockout (KO) mouse pups. We found that miR210 KO significantly reduced brain infarct size at 48 h and improved long-term locomotor functions assessed by an open field test three weeks after HI. Moreover, miR210 KO mice exhibited reduced IL1β levels, microglia activation and immune cell infiltration after HI. In addition, in vitro studies of microglia exposed to oxygen–glucose deprivation (OGD) revealed that miR210 inhibition with LNA reduced OGD-induced expression of Il1β and rescued OGD-mediated downregulation of mitochondrial iron–sulfur cluster assembly enzyme (ISCU) and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation activity. To validate the link between miR210 and microglia activation, isolated primary murine microglia were transfected with miR210 mimic or negative control. The results showed that miR210 mimic downregulated the expression of mitochondrial ISCU protein abundance and induced the expression of proinflammatory cytokines similar to the effect observed with ISCU silencing RNA. In summary, our results suggest that miR210 is a key regulator of microglial proinflammatory activation through reprogramming mitochondrial function in neonatal HI brain injury. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-Coding RNAs as Regulators of Cellular Function and Disease)
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