MicroRNA-9 and microRNA-326 regulate human dopamine D2 receptor expression, and the microRNA-mediated expression regulation is altered by a genetic variant.

ABSTRACT: The human dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric disorders. Most antipsychotic drugs influence dopaminergic transmission through blocking dopamine receptors, primarily DRD2. We report here the post-transcriptional regulation of DRD2 expression by two brain-expressed microRNAs (miRs), miR-326 and miR-9, in an ex vivo mode, and show the relevance of miR-mediated DRD2 expression regulation in human dopaminergic neurons and in developing human brains. Both miRs targeted the 3'-UTR (untranslated region) of DRD2 in NT2 (neuron-committed teratocarcinoma, which endogenously expresses DRD2) and CHO (Chinese hamster ovary) cell lines, decreasing luciferase activity measured by a luciferase reporter gene assay. miR-326 overex

SUBMITTER: Shi S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4036351 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature