AUTHOR=de Faria Jr. Omar, Moore Craig, Kennedy Timothy, Antel Jack, Bar-Or Amit, Dhaunchak Ajit TITLE=MicroRNA dysregulation in multiple sclerosis JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics VOLUME=3 YEAR=2013 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2012.00311 DOI=10.3389/fgene.2012.00311 ISSN=1664-8021 ABSTRACT=Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by central nervous system (CNS) demyelination and axonal degeneration. Although the cause of MS is still unknown, it is widely accepted that novel drug targets need to focus on both decreasing inflammation and promoting CNS repair. In MS and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, non-coding small microRNAs (miRNAs) are dysregulated in the immune system and CNS. Since individual miRNAs are able to down-regulate multiple targeted mRNA transcripts, even minor changes in miRNA expression may lead to significant alterations in gene expression. Herein, we review miRNA signatures reported in CNS tissue and immune cells of MS patients and consider how altered miRNA expression may influence MS pathology.