Author(s): Francisco, Stephany ; Martinho, Vera C. ; Ferreira, Margarida ; Reis, Andreia ; Moura, Gabriela ; Soares, Ana Raquel ; Santos, Manuel A. S.
Date: 2022
Persistent ID: https://hdl.handle.net/10316/103322
Origin: Estudo Geral - Universidade de Coimbra
Subject(s): miRNA; mammalian tissue aging; age-related protein aggregation; proteostasis network; Brain; Muscle, Skeletal; Protein Aggregates; MicroRNAs; Proteostasis
Aging can be defined as the progressive deterioration of cellular, tissue, and organismal function over time. Alterations in protein homeostasis, also known as proteostasis, are a hallmark of aging that lead to proteome imbalances and protein aggregation, phenomena that also occur in age-related diseases. Among the various proteostasis regulators, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to play important roles in the post-transcriptional control of genes involved in maintaining proteostasis during the lifespan in several organismal tissues. In this review, we consolidate recently published reports that demonstrate how miRNAs regulate fundamental proteostasis-related processes relevant to tissue aging, with emphasis on the two most studied tissues, brain tissue and skeletal muscle. We also explore an emerging perspective on the role of miRNA regulatory networks in age-related protein aggregation, a known hallmark of aging and age-related diseases, to elucidate potential miRNA candidates for anti-aging diagnostic and therapeutic targets.
This research was funded by the PORTUGUESE FOUNDATION FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (FCT) and FEDER (FUNDO EUROPEU DE DESENVOLVIMENTO REGIONAL) through the COMPETE 2020, OPERATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR COMPETITIVENESS AND INTERNATIONALIZATION (POCI) (GenomePT: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022184;WISDOM: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029843); MEDISIS (CENTRO-01-0246-FEDER-000018); and project “Piloto para a elaboração de uma estratégia e uma rede regional para a medicina personalizada/precisão” Grant (CENTRO-08-5864-FSE-000039). The iBiMED research unit is supported by FCT (UID/BIM/04501/2020). S.F. and M.F. are directly supported by FCT grants (SFRH/BD/148323/2019 and SFRH/BD/131736/2017). A.R.S. is supported by an individual CEEC auxiliary research contract (CEECIND/00284/2018).
