Review microRNAs in Spinal Cord Injury: Potential Roles and Therapeutic Implications

licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). Reproduction is permitted for personal, noncommercial use, provided that the article is in whole, unmodified, and properly cited. Received: 2014.03.09; Accepted: 2014.08.01; Published: 2014.09.06 microRNAs (miRNAs) are a novel class of small non-coding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. miRNAs can modulate gene expression and thus play important roles in diverse neurobiological processes, such as cell differentiation, growth, prolif-eration and neural activity, as well as the pathogenic processes of spinal cord injury (SCI) like in-flammation, oxidation, demyelination and apoptosis. Results from animal studies have revealed the temporal alterations in the expression of a large set of miRNAs following SCI in adult rats, and the expressional changes in miRNAs following SCI is bidirectional (increase or decrease). In addition, several miRNAs have distinct roles in prognosis of SCI (protective, detrimental and varied). Taken together, the existing evidence suggests that abnormal miRNA expression following SCI con-tributes to the pathogenesis of SCI, and miRNAs may become potential targets for the therapy of SCI. Key words: microRNA; spinal cord injury; therapy; diagnosis