RNA Activation by Long-Cheng Li

Author:Long-Cheng Li
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer Singapore, Singapore

Keywords

microRNANamiRNAEnhancerActivationAGO2Tissue specificity

Qingping Zou and Ying Liang contributed equally to this work.

8.1 Introduction

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of small noncoding RNAs of approximately 22 nucleotides (nts ) in length that are endogenous and single-stranded . The first miRNA discovered by Victor Ambros [14] downregulates the expression of lin-14 by targeting the 3′ UTR (3′ untranslated region). Since then, a growing number of miRNAs have been recounted to function as a regulator of gene expression. Canonically, miRNAs affect gene expression through posttranslational gene silencing , that is, they play a negative role in the regulation of translation or degradation of target mRNAs by binding to the complementary sequences that are often located in the 3′ UTR in the cytoplasm [1]. However, an increasing body of evidence shows that many miRNAs are also located within the nucleus . As such, it is difficult to explain the mechanism of nuclear miRNAs and establish characteristics of gene activation if one was to use the conventional negative-regulation theory of miRNAs in the cytoplasm.

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