RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Non-coding RNA is widely distributed in the nervous system in vivo and a significant change in the expression of non-coding RNA has been observed in a neural injury model. This suggests that non-coding RNA may serve as a potential target for resolving the challenges of peripheral nerve repair. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the mechanisms of microRNA, circular RNA and long non-coding RNA in the process of repair after peripheral nerve injury with the attempt to determine the possible treatment of peripheral nerve injury. METHODS: The first author retrieved the relevant literatures in CNKI and PubMed databases published from January 2001 to April 2019. The key words were “non-coding RNA, miRNA, circRNA, IncRNA, peripheral nerve injury” in Chinese and English, respectively. Forty-three literatures were included in accordance with the exclusion and inclusion criteria. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) MicroRNAs can act on certain signal pathways, regulate the apoptosis, growth, proliferation and differentiation of Schwann cells and participate in the repair of peripheral nerve injury. (2) Circular RNAs act as microRNA sponges to competitively inhibit the transcription in microRNA, and exert corresponding biological functions. (3) A large amount of long non-coding RNAs are expressed after peripheral nerve injury, and play a key role in the peripheral nerve regeneration.