MicroRNAs: small RNAs with big effects.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are evolutionarily conserved, small ( approximately 20-25 nucleotides), single-stranded molecules that suppress the expression of protein-coding genes by translational repression, messenger RNA degradation, or both. More than 700 miRNAs have been identified in the human genome. Amazingly, a single miRNA can regulate the expression of hundreds of mRNAs or proteins within a cell. The small RNAs are fast emerging as master regulators of innate and adaptive immunity and likely to play a pivotal role in transplantation. The clinical application of RNA sequencing ("next-generation sequencing") should facilitate transcriptome profiling at an unprecedented resolution. We provide an overview of miRNA biology and their hypothesized roles in transplantation.
Anglicheau
Dany
D
Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA.
Muthukumar
Thangamani
T
Suthanthiran
Manikkam
M
D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D001483:Base Sequence; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D015894:Genome, Human; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000235:genetics; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology
D035683:MicroRNAs; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C452194:lin-4 microRNA, C elegans