Small non-coding vault RNAs (vtRNAs) have been described as a component of the vault complex, a hollow-and-barrel-shaped ribonucleoprotein complex found in most eukaryotes. It has been suggested that the function of vtRNAs might not be limited to simply maintaining the structure of the vault complex. Despite the increasing research on vtRNAs, little is known about their physiological functions. Recently, we have shown that murine vtRNA (mvtRNA) up-regulates synaptogenesis by activating the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. mvtRNA binds to and activates mitogen activated protein kinase 1 (MEK1), and thereby enhances MEK1-mediated extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation. Here, we introduce the regulatory mechanism of MAPK signaling in synaptogenesis by vtRNAs and discuss the possibility as a novel molecular basis for synapse formation.

小的非编码穹窿 RNA (vtRNAs) 被描述为穹窿复合体的一个组成部分，穹窿复合体是一种在大多数真核生物中发现的空心桶形核糖核蛋白复合体。有人提出 vtRNA 的功能可能不仅限于简单地维持穹窿复合体的结构。尽管对 vtRNA 的研究越来越多，但对其生理功能知之甚少。最近，我们已经表明鼠 vtRNA (mvtRNA) 通过激活丝裂原活化蛋白激酶 (MAPK) 信号通路上调突触发生。mvtRNA 结合并激活丝裂原活化蛋白激酶 1 (MEK1)，从而增强 MEK1 介导的细胞外信号调节激酶激活。这里，