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REVIEW article

Front. Mol. Neurosci.
Sec. Neuroplasticity and Development
Volume 17 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2024.1397378
This article is part of the Research Topic Come as You R(NA): Post-transcriptional Regulation Will Do the Rest View all 10 articles

RNA in axons, dendrites, synapses and beyond

Provisionally accepted
Richard Taylor Richard Taylor 1*Nikolas Nikolaou Nikolas Nikolaou 2*
  • 1 Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King's College London, London, England, United Kingdom
  • 2 Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    In neurons, a diverse range of coding and non-coding RNAs localise to axons, dendrites, and synapses, where they facilitate rapid responses to local needs, such as growth, branching, synapse formation, and synaptic plasticity. Here, we review the extent of our current understanding of RNA subclass diversity in these functionally demanding subcellular compartments. We discuss the similarities and differences identified between axonal, dendritic and synaptic local transcriptomes, and discuss the reported and hypothesised fates and functions of localised RNAs. Furthermore, we outline the RNA composition of exosomes that bud off from neurites, and their implications for the biology of neighbouring cells. Finally, we highlight recent advances in third-generation sequencing technologies that will likely provide transformative insights into splice isoform and RNA modification diversity in local transcriptomes.

    Keywords: messenger RNA (mRNA), local mRNA translation, Cleavage and polyadenylation, Stability and degradation, Intron retaining RNA (IR RNA), MicroRNA (miRNA), Long non coding RNA (lncRNA), Circular RNA (circRNA)

    Received: 07 Mar 2024; Accepted: 01 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Taylor and Nikolaou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Richard Taylor, Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King's College London, London, WC2R 2LS, England, United Kingdom
    Nikolas Nikolaou, Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.