The potential role of microRNA-146 in Alzheimer's disease: Biomarker or therapeutic target?

Recently, there have been increasing evidences that microRNA-146 (miR-146) is related to up-regulated immune and inflammatory signaling through its target genes, such as IRAK1 and TRAF6. Additionally, abundant data continue to support the hypothesis that progressive up-regulation of inflammatory gene expression and elevated inflammatory signaling facilitate the development and progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This review focuses on the recent findings regarding the role of miR-146 in modulating immune response and its subsequent effects in the pathogenesis of AD. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.