MiRNA

In genetics, a miRNA (micro-RNA) is a form of single-stranded RNA which is typically 20-25 nucleotides long, and is thought to regulate the expression of other genes. miRNAs are RNA genes which are transcribed from DNA, but are not translated into protein. The DNA sequence that codes for an miRNA gene is longer than the miRNA. This DNA sequence includes the miRNA sequence and an approximate reverse complement. When this DNA sequence is transcribed into a single-stranded RNA molecule, the miRNA sequence and its reverse-complement base pair to form a double stranded RNA hairpin loop; this forms a primary miRNA structure (pri-miRNA). Drosha, a nuclear enzyme, cleaves the base of the hairpin to form pre-miRNA. The pre-miRNA molecule is then actively transported out of the nucleus into the cytoplasm by Exportin 5, a carrier protein. The Dicer enzyme then cuts 20-25 nucleotides from the base of the hairpin to release the mature miRNA.

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The function of miRNAs appears to be in gene regulation. For that purpose, a miRNA is complementary to a part of one or more messenger RNAs (mRNAs), usually at a site in the 3' UTR. The annealing of the miRNA to the mRNA inhibits protein translation. In some cases, the formation of the double-stranded RNA through the binding of the miRNA triggers the degradation of the mRNA transcript through a process similar to RNA interference (RNAi), though in other cases it is believed that the miRNA complex blocks the protein translation machinery or otherwise prevents protein translation without causing the mRNA to be degraded.

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This effect was first described for the worm Caenorhabditis elegans in 1993 by R. C. Lee of Harvard University. As of 2002, miRNAs have been confirmed in various plants and animals, including C. elegans, human and the plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Genes have been found in bacteria that are similar in the sense that they control mRNA abundance or translation by binding an mRNA by base pairing, however they are not generally considered to be miRNAs because the Dicer enzyme is not involved.

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The term miRNA was first introduced in a set of three articles in Science (26 October 2001) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11679654

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In plants, similar RNA species termed short-interfering RNAs siRNAs are used to prevent the transcription of viral RNA. While this siRNA is double-stranded, the mechanism seems to be closely related to that of miRNA, especially taking the hairpin structures into account. siRNAs are also used to regulate cellular genes, as miRNAs do.

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The activity of an miRNA can be experimentally blocked using a Morpholino antisense oligo.

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Most efficient methods for miRNA detection are based on oligonucleotides modified with locked nucleic acids.

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