Frontiers in Neuroscience (Oct 2023)

Optimized miR-124 reporters uncover differences in miR-124 expression among neuronal populations in vitro

  • Catherine Lepolard,
  • Cynthia Rombaut,
  • Florence Jaouen,
  • Florence Jaouen,
  • Ana Borges,
  • Elodie Caccomo-Garcia,
  • Natalia Popa,
  • Eduardo Gascon

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2023.1257599
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17

Abstract

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IntroductionAlthough intensively studied in the last decades, how microRNAs (miRNAs) are expressed across different cell types in the brain remains largely unknown.MaterialsTo address this issue, we sought to develop optimized fluorescence reporters that could be expressed in precise cellular subsets and used to accurately quantify miR contents in vivo.ResultsFocusing on miR-124, we tested different reporter designs whose efficiency was confirmed in different in vitro settings including cell lines and primary neuronal cultures from different brain structures. Unlike previous reporters, we provide experimental evidence that our optimized designs can faithfully translate miR levels in vitro.DiscussionTools developed here would enable assessing miRNA expression at the single cell resolution and are expected to significantly contribute to future miRNA research in vivo.

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