MicroRNAs: A new class of gene regulators

Abstract

Elucidation of the molecular basis of disease depends upon continued progress in defining the mechanisms by which genomic information is encoded and expressed. Transcription factor-mediated regulation of mRNA is clearly a major source of regulatory control and has been well studied. The more recent discovery of small RNAs as key regulators of gene function has introduced a new level and mechanism of regulation. Mammalian genomes contain hundreds of microRNAs (miRNAs) that each can potentially downregulate many target genes. This suggests a new source for broad control over gene regulation and has inspired extensive interest in defining miRNAs and their functions. Here, the identification of miRNAs, their biogenesis, and some examples of miRNA effects on biology and disease are reviewed and discussed. Emphasis is placed on the possible role for miRNA in nervous system development, function, and disease.

Brain and Blood microRNA Expression Profiling of Ischemic Stroke, Intracerebral Hemorrhage, and Kainate Seizures

“…MicroRNA expression has been examined in various tumors (Guarnieri and DiLeone, 2008;Lu et al, 2005;Nicoloso and Calin, 2008), in Alzheimer's disease (Hebert et al, 2008), Parkinson's disease (Kim et al, 2007), Down's syndrome (Kuhn et al, 2008), schizophrenia (Beveridge et al, 2008), and stroke (Dharap et al, 2009;Jeyaseelan et al, 2008). These miRNA expression profiles may be as diagnostically useful as mRNA expression profiles (Guarnieri and DiLeone, 2008;Lu et al, 2005).…”

“…Although there are only hundreds of miRNAs, each of them can potentially regulate hundreds of target genes (Guarnieri and DiLeone, 2008), with the prediction that more than one-third of all human genes may be regulated by miRNAs (EsquelaKerscher and Slack, 2006). Functionally, miRNAs are implicated in fundamental cellular processes including cell-cycle regulation (Matsubara et al, 2007), hematopoietic differentiation (Hatfield and RuoholaBaker, 2008), immune responses (Bi et al, 2009), and cellular metabolism (Gauthier and Wollheim, 2006).…”

Regulation of erythroid differentiation by miR-376a and its targets

“…MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous molecules that post-transcriptionally regulate target gene expression [4][5][6]. In many cases, the identification of specific targets of miRNAs has highlighted important cellular events and demonstrated that aberrant microRNA expression is a common feature of many diseases [7][8][9].…”

A simple and fast method for profiling microRNA expression from low‐input total RNA by microarray

“…Evidence shows that miRNAs exhibit a variety of crucial regulatory functions related to many fundamental aspects of life (2)(3)(4)(5). In recent years, deregulated expression of miRNA has also been found to be associated with various human diseases (6)(7)(8).…”