MicroRNA-129-5p is regulated by choline availability and controls EGF receptor synthesis and neurogenesis in the cerebral cortex.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Preclinical in vitro and animal mechanistic research
PubMed 30521373 · doi:10.1096/fj.201801094RR
What was done
The authors investigated the mechanism by which choline availability affects cortical neural progenitor cell (NPC) proliferation and differentiation. They assessed the expression of microRNA-129-5p (miR-129-5p), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) protein levels, and methylation potential (the S-adenosylmethionine to S-adenosylhomocysteine ratio) in cortical NPCs in vitro and in vivo under low choline (LC) conditions, as well as the effects of restoring methylation potential and inhibiting miR-129-5p.
What was found
No quantitative values or effect estimates were reported in the abstract. Qualitatively, low choline availability increased miR-129-5p expression in cortical NPCs in vitro and in vivo, which downregulated EGFR synthesis and disrupted NPC self-renewal and cortical neurogenesis. Low choline also reduced the developing brain methylation potential. Restoring methylation potential in LC NPCs normalized miR-129-5p expression, and inhibiting miR-129-5p while restoring EGFR protein levels reversed the LC-induced NPC self-renewal defects in vivo.
Why it matters
This study defines an epigenetic and post-transcriptional pathway (methylation potential to miR-129-5p to EGFR) connecting dietary choline availability to neural progenitor cell maintenance during cortical development.
Limits
This is purely preclinical mechanistic work in cell culture and animal models, so direct applicability to human nutritional requirements and neurodevelopment remains unestablished. The abstract does not provide sample sizes, effect magnitudes, or variance metrics, nor does it assess long-term functional or behavioral outcomes.
Cited by
- supports Animal studies show that depriving pregnant mothers of choline causes fetal brain development to stop earlier and leads to babies born with fewer neurons.