MicroRNA-132 (miR-132), a small RNA that regulates gene expression, is known to promote neurogenesis in the embryonic nervous system and adult brain. Although exposure to psychoactive substances can increase miR-132 expression in cultured neural stem cells (NSCs) and the adult brain of rodents, little is known about its role in opioid addiction. So, we set out to determine the effect of miR-132 on differentiation of the NSCs and whether this effect is involved in opioid addiction using the rat morphine self-administration (MSA) model. We found that miR-132 overexpression enhanced the differentiation of NSCs in vivo and in vitro. Similarly, specific overexpression of miR-132 in NSCs of the adult hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) during the acquisition stage of MSA potentiated morphine-seeking behavior. These findings indicate that miR-132 is involved in opioid addiction, probably by promoting the differentiation of NSCs in the adult DG.
Keywords: Dentate gyrus; Neural stem cell; Opioid addiction; miR-132.