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Short Communication Open Access
Volume 1 | Issue 1 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.46439/Neuroscience.1.004

MicroRNA silencing: A promising therapy for Alzheimer’s disease

  • 1Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, American University of Health Sciences, Signal Hill, CA 90755, United States
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Corresponding Author

Neelima B. Chauhan, nchauhan51@gmail.com

Received Date: October 11, 2020

Accepted Date: November 20, 2020

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a global health crisis currently afflicting ~6 million Americans (and ~40 million people worldwide). By the middle of the century, these numbers will stagger by ~16 million Americans (and ~152 million people worldwide) suffering from AD, if breakthrough disease-modifying treatments are not discovered. Currently, there are no treatments to prevent, halt or cure the disease. Multiple independent studies on brain gene expression patterns have indicated that in AD about 1/3rd of the genes are upregulated while the rest 2/3rd of the genes are downregulated. In that regard, AD therapeutics focused on antagomiR-mediated silencing of “upregulated” microRNAs (miRs) may be more feasible since upregulated miRs in AD continue to increase with the disease progression, as opposed to agomiR-mediated overexpression of down-regulated miRs with unpredictable reduced presence and relative short-life of 1-3h under pathological conditions in AD brain. Studies reported thus far indicate that most of the upregulated pathogenic genes in AD are regulated by pro-inflammatory microRNAs (miRs). Given the precedence of chronic neuroinflammation in triggering AD-like neurodegeneration and multifactorial nature of AD, silencing inflammation-specific micro-RNAs using antisense-microRNAs may be an effective adjuvant therapeutic strategy to prevent, halt or cure AD.

Keywords

Alzheimer’s disease, MicroRNA, AntagomiRs, Neuroinflammation

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