Human microRNAs miR-22, miR-138-2, miR-148a, and miR-488 are associated with panic disorder and regulate several anxiety candidate genes and related pathways.

Background: The involvement of microRNAs (miRNAs) in neuronal differentiation and synaptic plasticity suggests a role for miRNAs in psychiatric disorders; association analyses and functional approaches were used to evaluate the implication of miRNAs in the susceptibility for panic disorder.

Methods: Case-control studies for 712 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) tagging 325 human miRNA regions were performed in 203 Spanish patients with panic disorder and 341 control subjects. A sample of 321 anxiety patients and 642 control subjects from Finland and 102 panic disorder patients and 829 control subjects from Estonia was used as a replica.

Overexpression of miR-128 specifically inhibits the truncated isoform of NTRK3 and upregulates BCL2 in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells.

Background: Neurotrophins and their receptors are key molecules in the regulation of neuronal differentiation and survival. They mediate the survival of neurons during development and adulthood and are implicated in synaptic plasticity. The human neurotrophin-3 receptor gene NTRK3 yields two major isoforms, a full-length kinase-active form and a truncated non-catalytic form, which activates a specific pathway affecting membrane remodeling and cytoskeletal reorganization.

Design and evaluation of a panel of single-nucleotide polymorphisms in microRNA genomic regions for association studies in human disease.

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are recognized posttranscriptional gene repressors involved in the control of almost every biological process. Allelic variants in these regions may be an important source of phenotypic diversity and contribute to disease susceptibility. We analyzed the genomic organization of 325 human miRNAs (release 7.

Allele variants in functional MicroRNA target sites of the neurotrophin-3 receptor gene (NTRK3) as susceptibility factors for anxiety disorders.

Genetic and functional data indicate that variation in the expression of the neurotrophin-3 receptor gene (NTRK3) may have an impact on neuronal plasticity, suggesting a role for NTRK3 in the pathophysiology of anxiety disorders. MicroRNA (miRNA) posttranscriptional gene regulators act by base-pairing to specific sequence sites, usually at the 3'UTR of the target mRNA. Variants at these sites might result in gene expression changes contributing to disease susceptibility.