MicroRNA exocytosis by vesicle fusion in neuroendocrine cells

Yongsoo Park*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that posttranscriptionally regulate gene expression inside the cell. Extracellular circulating miRNAs are also observed outside the cell, but their origin is poorly understood. Recently, miRNA has been shown to be exocytosed by vesicle fusion; this observation demonstrates that vesicle-free miRNAs are secreted from neuroendocrine cells, in a manner similar to hormone secretion. miRNAs are stored in large dense-core vesicles together with catecholamines, then released by vesicle fusion in response to stimulation; in this way, vesicle-free miRNA may regulate cell-to-cell communication including the regulation of gene expression and cellular signaling. Therefore, miRNA has been suggested to function as a hormone; i.e., a ribomone (ribonucleotide + hormone). This review focuses on the mechanisms by which vesicle-free miRNAs are secreted from neuroendocrine cells and will discuss potential functions of vesicle-free miRNAs and how vesicle-free miRNAs regulate cell-to-cell communication.

Original languageEnglish
Article number355
JournalFrontiers in Endocrinology
Volume8
Issue numberDEC
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 22 Dec 2017
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Chromaffin cells
  • Fusion
  • Large dense-core vesicles
  • MicroRNA
  • Neuroendocrine cells
  • SNARE

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'MicroRNA exocytosis by vesicle fusion in neuroendocrine cells'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this