A microRNA negative feedback loop downregulates vesicle transport and inhibits fear memory.

Elife
Authors
Abstract

The SNARE-mediated vesicular transport pathway plays major roles in synaptic remodeling associated with formation of long-term memories, but the mechanisms that regulate this pathway during memory acquisition are not fully understood. Here we identify miRNAs that are up-regulated in the rodent hippocampus upon contextual fear-conditioning and identify the vesicular transport and synaptogenesis pathways as the major targets of the fear-induced miRNAs. We demonstrate that miR-153, a member of this group, inhibits the expression of key components of the vesicular transport machinery, and down-regulates Glutamate receptor A1 trafficking and neurotransmitter release. MiR-153 expression is specifically induced during LTP induction in hippocampal slices and its knockdown in the hippocampus of adult mice results in enhanced fear memory. Our results suggest that miR-153, and possibly other fear-induced miRNAs, act as components of a negative feedback loop that blocks neuronal hyperactivity at least partly through the inhibition of the vesicular transport pathway.

Year of Publication
2016
Journal
Elife
Volume
5
Date Published
2016 Dec 21
ISSN
2050-084X
DOI
10.7554/eLife.22467
PubMed ID
28001126
PubMed Central ID
PMC5293492
Links
Grant list
R01 NS092578 / NS / NINDS NIH HHS / United States