title: ADAR enzyme and miRNA story: a nucleotide that can make the difference.
abstract: Adenosine deaminase acting on RNA (ADAR) enzymes convert adenosine (A) to inosine (I) in double-stranded (ds) RNAs. Since Inosine is read as Guanosine, the biological consequence of ADAR enzyme activity is an A/G conversion within RNA molecules. A-to-I editing events can occur on both coding and non-coding RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs), which are small regulatory RNAs of ~20-23 nucleotides that regulate several cell processes by annealing to target mRNAs and inhibiting their translation. Both miRNA precursors and mature miRNAs undergo A-to-I RNA editing, affecting the miRNA maturation process and activity. ADARs can also edit 3' UTR of mRNAs, further increasing the interplay between mRNA targets and miRNAs. In this review, we provide a general overview of the ADAR enzymes and their mechanisms of action as well as miRNA processing and function. We then review the more recent findings about the impact of ADAR-mediated activity on the miRNA pathway in terms of biogenesis, target recognition, and gene expression regulation.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of RNA Editing, Onco-haematology Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Piazza S. Onofrio 4, Rome 00165, Italy. anna.alisi@opbg.net.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tomaselli
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bonamassa
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alisi
authors.forename: Valerio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nobili
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Locatelli
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gallo
mesh_terms: D000241:Adenosine / Q000235:genetics; D000243:Adenosine Deaminase / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007288:Inosine / Q000235:genetics; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded / Q000235:genetics*; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D007288:Inosine; C567955:ADARB1 protein, human; D000243:Adenosine Deaminase; D000241:Adenosine