| First Author | Meares GP | Year | 2018 |
| Journal | Glia | Volume | 66 |
| Issue | 5 | Pages | 987-998 |
| PubMed ID | 29380422 | Mgi Jnum | J:258725 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6144330 | Doi | 10.1002/glia.23296 |
| Citation | Meares GP, et al. (2018) MicroRNA-31 is required for astrocyte specification. Glia 66(5):987-998 |
| abstractText | Previously, we determined microRNA-31 (miR-31) is a noncoding tumor suppressive gene frequently deleted in glioblastoma (GBM); miR-31 suppresses tumor growth, in part, by limiting the activity of NF-kappaB. Herein, we expand our previous studies by characterizing the role of miR-31 during neural precursor cell (NPC) to astrocyte differentiation. We demonstrate that miR-31 expression and activity is suppressed in NPCs by stem cell factors such as Lin28, c-Myc, SOX2 and Oct4. However, during astrocytogenesis, miR-31 is induced by STAT3 and SMAD1/5/8, which mediate astrocyte differentiation. We determined miR-31 is required for terminal astrocyte differentiation, and that the loss of miR-31 impairs this process and/or prevents astrocyte maturation. We demonstrate that miR-31 promotes astrocyte development, in part, by reducing the levels of Lin28, a stem cell factor implicated in NPC renewal. These data suggest that miR-31 deletions may disrupt astrocyte development and/or homeostasis. |
