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The miRNA System: Bifurcation Points of Cancer and Neurodegeneration

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Two Faces of Evil: Cancer and Neurodegeneration

Part of the book series: Research and Perspectives in Alzheimer's Disease ((ALZHEIMER))

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Abstract

Developmental programs direct cells toward specific fates by harnessing epigenetic mechanisms to progressively limit their potential and canalize changes in cell state toward a specialized terminal identity. Controlling proliferation on the one hand, and apoptosis on the other, are among the paramount twin hazards faced by the cell over its life span. Loosening of controls over proliferation clearly leads to cancer and loosening of controls over apoptosis may lead to degeneration. The genetic logic circuits that regulate proliferation and apoptosis lie at the core of cellular function, and it follows from the complexity of this circuitry that many different pathways exist in nearly all cells that can lead to cancer or degeneration. In neurons, microRNAs (miRNAs) have assumed a specialized role in regulating synaptic plasticity locally at synapses. This emerging role for miRNAs introduces another candidate pathway in the exploration of the underlying molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by a W. M. Keck Foundation Grant and a Hillblom Foundation Grant to KSK. PN research is supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. PHY05-51164.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Cellular Developmental Biology, Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA

    Kenneth S. Kosik

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  1. Kenneth S. Kosik
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  2. Pierre Neveu
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  3. Sourav Banerjee
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Correspondence to Kenneth S. Kosik .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Pathology and Laboratory M, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Civic Center Boulevard 3501, Philadelphia, 19104, Pennsylvania, USA

    Thomas Curran

  2. Fondation IPSEN, Quai Georges Gorse 65, Boulogne-Billancourt Cedex, 92650, France

    Yves Christen

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Kosik, K.S., Neveu, P., Banerjee, S. (2011). The miRNA System: Bifurcation Points of Cancer and Neurodegeneration. In: Curran, T., Christen, Y. (eds) Two Faces of Evil: Cancer and Neurodegeneration. Research and Perspectives in Alzheimer's Disease. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-16602-0_12

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