title: The role of microRNA in nutritional control.
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are one of a growing class of noncoding RNAs that are involved in the regulation of a wide range of metabolic processes including cellular differentiation, cell proliferation and apoptosis. The generation of miRNA is regulated in complex ways, for example by small interfering RNAs (small nucleolar and nuclear RNAs) and various other metabolites. This complexity of control is likely to explain how a relatively small part of the DNA that codes for proteins has enabled the evolution of such complex organisms as mammals. Non-protein-coding DNA is therefore thought to carry the memory of early evolutionary steps that led to progressively complex metabolic controls. Clinically, miRNAs are becoming increasingly important following the recognition that some congenital abnormalities can be traced to defects in miRNA processing. The potential for manipulating metabolism and affecting disease processes by the pharmaceutical or biological targeting of specific miRNA pathways is now being tested. miRNAs are also released into the extracellular milieu after packaging by cells into nano-sized extracellular vesicles. Such vesicles can be taken up by adjacent and possibly more distant cells, thereby allowing coordinated intercellular communication in specific tissues. Extracellular miRNAs found in the blood stream may also serve as novel biomarkers for both diagnosing specific forms of cancer and assessing the likelihood of metastasis, and as powerful prognostic indices for various cancers. Here, we discuss the role of intracellular and extracellular miRNAs in nutritional control of various (patho)physiological processes. In this review, we provide an update of the presentations from the 25th Marabou Symposium (Stockholm, 14-16 June 2013) entitled 'Role of miRNA in health and nutrition', attended by 50 international experts
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: E N M
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Nolte-'t Hoen
authors.affiliation: Hubrecht Institute, Koninklijke Nederlandse Academie van Wetenschappen (KNAW), University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Van Rooij
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council (MRC) Toxicology Unit, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bushell
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for microRNA Biology and Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: C-Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Center for Epigenetics and Disease Prevention, Institute of Biosciences & Technology, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Dashwood
authors.affiliation: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: W P T
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: James
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Baltimore
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002450:Cell Communication; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: development; metabolic control; miRNA; nutrition; pathology; signalling