MicroRNAs in the Search for Understanding Human Diseases

摘要: MiroRNAs (miRNAs) are double-stranded, noncoding RNA molecules (with an average size of 22bp) that serve as post-transcriptional regulators gene expression in higher eukaryotes. miRNAs play important role development and other cellular processes by hybridizing with complementary target mRNA transcripts, preventing their translation thereby destabilizing the transcripts. Though hundreds have been discovered a variety organisms, little is known about function. They implicated regulation developmental timing pattern formation, restriction differentiation potential, insulin secretion, resistance to viral infection, genomic rearrangements associated carcinogenesis or genetic disorders, such fragile X syndrome. Recent evidence suggests number unique miRNA genes humans exceeds 1000, may be high 20 000. It estimated 20–30% all human mRNAs targets. During last few years, special attention has given candidate drug targets for cancer, diabetes mellitus, obesity, diseases.