Neurodegenerative diseases affect an increasing part of the population of modern societies,
burdening healthcare systems and causing immense suffering at the personal level.
The pathogenesis of several of these disorders involves dysregulation of gene expression,
which depends on several molecular processes ranging from transcription to protein
stability. microRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNA molecules that modulate gene
expression by suppressing the translation of partially complementary mRNAs. miR-137
is a conserved, neuronally enriched miRNA that is implicated in neurodegeneration.
Here, we review the current body of knowledge about the role that miR-137 plays in
five prominent neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s
disease, Huntington’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and multiple sclerosis.
The presented data indicate that, rather than having a general neuroprotective role,
miR-137 modulates the pathology of distinct disorders differently.
