MicroRNAs in opioid addiction: elucidating evolution.

ABSTRACT: Three reviews in the Frontiers Research Topic "Non-Coding RNA and Addiction" (He and Wang, 2012; Rodriguez, 2012; Zheng et al., 2012), grouped under the chapter "MicroRNAs and Morphine," focus on the contribution of microRNAs to opioid abuse. Although animal models have been fundamental to our understanding of addiction pathways, the assumption that microRNAs implicated in opioid tolerance - and their binding sites in mRNAs - are conserved in mammalian evolution was not examined by the authors. Inspired by recent reports which highlight a surprising lack of evolutionary conservation in non-coding RNA genes, in this perspective we use public genome, annotation, and transcriptome datasets to verify microRNA host gene, mature microRNA, and microRNA binding site conservation at key loci functi

SUBMITTER: Wood EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3516178 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature