OBJECTIVES: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous ~23 nucleotides (nt) RNAs, regulating gene expression by pairing to the mRNAs of protein-coding genes to direct their post-transcriptional repression. Both in normal and aberrant activities, miRNAs contribute to a recurring paradigm of cellular behaviors in pathological settings, especially in gerontology. Autophagy, a multi-step lysosomal degradation process with function to degrade long-lived proteins and damaged organelles, has significant impact on gerontology. Thus, elucidating how miRNAs participate in autophagy may enlarge the scope of miRNA in autophagy and facilitate researches in gerontology.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Herein, based upon the published studies, predicted targets and gerontology-related diseases, we constructed a web resource named Gerontology-Autophagic-MicroRNA Database (GAMDB) (http://gamdb.liu-lab.com/index.php), which contained 836 autophagy-related miRNAs, 197 targeted genes/proteins and 56 aging-related diseases such as Parkinson' disease, Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: We made use of large amounts of data to elucidate the intricate relationships between microRNA-regulated autophagic mechanisms and gerontology. This database will facilitate better understanding of autophagy regulation network in gerontology and thus promoting gerontology-related therapy in the future.
