Role of MicroRNAs in the Regulation of Sleep/wakefulness and Their Expression Changes in the Brain Following Sleep Deprivation

authors:

avatar Akram Ahangarpour 1 , avatar Rafie Belali 2 , *

Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Physiology Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
Student Research Committee, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
Jundishapur Journal of Physiology: Vol.2, issue 2; 109-121
published online: January 10, 2023
article type: Research Article
received: November 05, 2022
accepted: January 09, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3295/JJP.2023.2.2.121

how to cite: Ahangarpour A, Belali R. Role of MicroRNAs in the Regulation of Sleep/wakefulness and Their Expression Changes in the Brain Following Sleep Deprivation. Jundishapur J Physiol. 2024;2(2):e148771. https://doi.org/10.3295/JJP.2023.2.2.121.

Abstract

Background and Objectives: The circadian rhythm has 24-hour oscillators and is introduced as an internal sleep/wakefulness cycle regulator. This system is regulated by transcription-translation feedback loops. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) include non-coding RNAs, which are essential in the post-translational modification of mRNA transcripts. MiRNAs play a significant role in circadian rhythm regulation, and it has been demonstrated that sleep loss can alter brain miRNA levels. Nowadays, sleep deprivation has turned into a daunting challenge in modern societies, considering that sleep disorder is the source of many diseases, and numerous studies have examined the association between sleep disorder and miRNA dysfunction. Therefore, it appears that it is critical to assess the relationship between microRNA, circadian rhythm, and sleep disorder.
Subjects and Methods: For this purpose, a query was conducted on various databases (Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed) for English articles from 1998 to 2021.
Results: The current evidence confirms that miRNAs are involved in the molecular regulation of circadian rhythms by regulating sleep duration and intensity. Some of these miRNAs include miRNA-155, miRNA-7b, MiR-182, miRNA-126, miRNA-192/194, miRNA-142-3p, miRNA-132, and miRNA-219-1. Lack of sleep can cause widespread changes in protein expression throughout the brain by altering miRNA (miR-1b, miRNA-125a-3p, miR-146a, miR-26a/b-3p, and miR-138) levels.
Conclusion: As reviewed in this study, miRNAs are uniquely expressed at different times and in various structures in the brain, playing a key role in sleep regulation. These findings suggest that understanding the abnormalities in the expression of circadian miRNAs could be used to treat numerous disorders following sleep deprivation.