Small RNAs in andrology: Small messengers with large perspectives

Abstract

It is a great pleasure to introduce the readers of Andrology to this special issue devoted to the involvement of small RNAs in male-specific aspects of physiology and pathology. Since the discovery of ribosomal and transfer RNA (rRNA and tRNA) in the 1950s, it has been known that RNA molecules can serve other functions than translating genomic sequences into proteins in the form of messenger RNAs (mRNAs).However, it was first in 1993 that small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) were discovered to be directly engaged in the regulation of mRNAs in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. 1 This initiated the idea that sncR-NAs, in general, could be involved in regulatory functions. Soon after, several other functional sncRNAs were described and the term "micro RNA" (miRNA) first appeared in the beginning of the millennium. [2][3][4] Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

Small Non-Coding RNAs in Male Reproduction

“…Besides other regulatory mechanisms, small non-coding RNA (sncRNA)-mediated gene regulation has a critical contribution to male reproduction. 1 sncRNAs are short (20–35 nt) RNA molecules that are abundant in eukaryotic genomes, and mediate a broad range of gene regulatory processes that control diverse cellular functions and development. 1 sncRNAs mostly act at the posttranscriptional level by binding specific RNAs in the cytoplasm through complementary base pairing, and targeting them for degradation, thereby negatively affecting gene expression.…”

“…1 sncRNAs are short (20–35 nt) RNA molecules that are abundant in eukaryotic genomes, and mediate a broad range of gene regulatory processes that control diverse cellular functions and development. 1 sncRNAs mostly act at the posttranscriptional level by binding specific RNAs in the cytoplasm through complementary base pairing, and targeting them for degradation, thereby negatively affecting gene expression. 2 3 In addition, sncRNAs can target genomic regions to affect gene expression at the transcriptional level by inducing epigenetic changes.…”