Interactions of Melatonin and MicroRNAs

Rudiger Hardeland

doi:10.21767/2471-8084.100056

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important players in the modulation of cellular functions and contribute substantially to epigenetic changes in the expression of genes. Moreover, the distribution of miRNAs via exosomes and ectosomes opens a vast field of intraorganismal communication, with the potential of spreading pathological deviations, but also curative effects induced by protective agents. Interactions between melatonin and microRNAs are of particular interest, as melatonin is highly pleiotropic regulator of numerous functions in every organ. The effects of melatonin in correcting pathological alterations in miRNA composition are reviewed, along with the corresponding reversal of cell biological or physiological functions to normal. Additionally, knowledge on the influence of miRNAs on melatonin formation and expression of a melatonin receptor has been considered. The fields in which melatonin has been shown to influence miRNAs are as diverse as metabolic syndrome, liver steatosis, immunology, amyloid toxicity, progenitor cells, and cancer. Readers are encouraged to contribute to systematic studies on melatonin effects on miRNAs using modern RNA sequencing techniques.

Highlights

Epigenetic regulation receives increasing attention in cell biology and medicine
Among the multiple epigenetic changes, the contribution of microRNAs as regulators of countless functions is of particular interest [4,5,6,7,8,9]
The number of mammalian miRNAs is in the range about one thousand, but their modulatory actions extend to the expression of, at least, half of the coding genes, because single miRNAs can sometimes interact with hundreds of mRNAs or their precursors, hnRNAs, or even with the respective antisense transcripts [4,5,6,7,8]

Summary

Introduction

Epigenetic regulation receives increasing attention in cell biology and medicine. In melatonin research, this is an emerging field [1,2,3]. Target mRNAs, asRNAs or hnRNAs are typically derived from genes that are dynamically regulated or others that are important for the functional state of a cell. In addition to interactions with other RNAs, some miRNAs have been shown to target specific toll-like receptors (TLRs) [9,10,11]. This is only possible with TLRs that are capable of binding single-stranded RNAs (ssRNAs) but not double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs). Binding to TLR7 was first shown for the miRNAs Let-7c and miR-21 [10]

Discussion

Conclusion