Maya Brinster 

AP Bio EF Even 

April 8, 2021 

Current Event #18 

“Key Brain Molecule May Play Role in Many Brain Disorders.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 6 Apr. 2021, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/04/210406164203.htm

Scientists at the UNC school of medicine have discovered that the microRNA-29 molecule is a key controller of the maturation of mice brains. The absence of this molecule, they found, can create issues that are similar to the problems found in neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism and epilepsy. MicroRNAs are stretches of ribonucleic acid that regulate gene expression. Each of these microRNAs binds to an RNA transcript from other genes, preventing it from being translated into a protein, which inhibits the gene activity. Scientists found that levels of one specific microRNA, the microRNA-29 family, were “ 50 to 70 times higher in the adult mouse brains than in young mouse brains.” They then examined a mouse model in which the genes for the microRNA-29 family were only deleted in the brain. They found that the mice soon developed a mix of problems after birth such as hyperactivity and abnormalities seen in mouse models of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Some even developed severe epileptic seizures. Much remains to be discovered, and the scientists are following up by studying how this lack of microRNA-29 in specific sets of brain cells can create the neurological disorders observed in the mice. 

This discovery is incredibly important, as scientists are hopeful that it can lead to new therapies that can prevent or lessen the effects of these neurological disorders. Mohanish Deshmukh, a professor at the UNC Department of Cell Biology & Physiology offers insight into this possibility: “Our work suggests that boosting levels of miR-29, perhaps even by delivering it directly, could lead to a therapeutic strategy for neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism." A preventative or even an effective therapy for these very serious disorders would be revolutionary.  

This article is extremely interesting and very well-written. It is engaging, and most of the points that the author makes are clear. However, some parts of the article were difficult to follow, and I found myself rereading multiple sections in order to gain a full understanding of what the author was explaining. Overall, this article has made me more optimistic about the future of therapies for neurological conditions that I previously thought were unable to be cured.