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April 17-18, 2019 | Frankfurt, Germany
Parkinson’s, Huntington’s & Movement Disorders
International Conference on
Journal of Brain and Neurology | Volume 3
MicroRNAs modulation-A potential Neuroprotective strategy for Parkinson’s therapy
Camila Hillesheim Horst
University of Brasília, Brazil
P
arkinson’s disease is the second most common
neurodegenerative disorder and is characterized
by the loss of nigrostriatal neurons. MicroRNAs
(miRNAs) are noncoding RNAs that regulate
cellular mRNA content. Considering that one single
miRNA regulates hundreds of target genes by RNA
interference (RNAi), a dysregulated expression
of miRNAs may cause critical pathological
consequences. Indeed, aberrantly expressed
miRNAs can play a critical role in neurological
disorders, as well as in Parkinson’s disease.
Therefore,controllingmicroRNAlevelswithsynthetic
oligonucleotides might protect dopaminergic
neurons in models of Parkinson's disease. In this
regard, our previous work revealed that microRNA-
targeted oligonucleotides induced significant
improvement in the viability of SH-SY5Y cells
exposed to rotenone, suggesting a neuroprotective
role to miRNA modulation. In the present study,
we investigated if controlling microRNA expression
would protect striatal neurons of rotenone-injured
rats. We injected oligonucleotides structured in
Neuromag® nanoparticles by stereotaxic surgery
in the right lateral ventricle. Two days after
surgery, animals received ten daily I.P. injections
of rotenone. Fluorescence microscopy showed
that nanoparticles successfully transfected the
oligonucleotides into striatal neurons. Furthermore,
the transfection produced a significant silencing
in microRNA’s expression in the area. Altogether,
our results suggest that microRNAs are a potential
target for Parkinson’s therapy and therefore miRNAs
modulation is a promising strategy to reduce the
vulnerability of dopaminergic neurons to rotenone
insult.
Speaker Biography
Camila H.H. is a biologist who graduated in the University of Brasília and
is currently concluding her Master’s degree in the same university. She
has been studying Parkinson's disease for more than six years and has
already contributed to Parkinson's research with her published articles.
She has also worked with international research groups and attended
meetings in the area of study. Finally, she intends to continue in this
field in her Ph.D.
e:
horstcamila@gmail.com