MicroRNA function: Multiple mechanisms for a tiny RNA?

  1. RAMESH S. PILLAI
  1. Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, 4002 Basel, Switzerland

Abstract

MicroRNAs are sequence-specific regulators of post-transcriptional gene expression in many eukaryotes. They are believed to control the expression of thousands of target mRNAs, with each mRNA believed to be targeted by multiple microRNAs. Recent studies have uncovered various mechanisms by which microRNAs down-regulate their target mRNAs and have linked a well-known subcellular structure, the cytoplasmic processing bodies (PBs) to the microRNA pathway. The finding that microRNAs are misexpressed in cancers has reinforced the idea that their regulatory roles are very important.

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Footnotes

  • Article and publication are at http://www.rnajournal.org/cgi/doi/10.1261/rna.2248605.

  • EDITOR’S NOTE The foregoing invited review is the first in an annual series to be published by the winner of the RNA Society/Scaringe Award. This award is given each year in recognition of exceptional contributions to RNA research by a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. Dr. Pillai received the 2005 award for his work on microRNA-mediated repression of gene expression.

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