Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, Vol 3, No 3 (2011)

MicroRNAs: Processing, Maturation, Target Recognition and Regulatory Functions

Abstract

The remarkable discovery of small noncoding microRNAs (miRNAs) and their role in posttranscriptional gene regulation have revealed another fine-tuning step in the expression of genetic information. A large number of cellular pathways, which act in organismal development and are important in health and disease, appear to be modulated by miRNAs. At the molecular level, miRNAs restrain the production of proteins by affecting the stability of their target mRNA and/or by down-regulating their translation. This review attempts to offer a snapshot of aspects of miRNA coding, processing, target recognition and function in animals. Our goal here is to provide the readers with a thought-provoking and mechanistic introduction to the miRNA world rather than with a detailed encyclopedia.

Keywords: small noncoding microRNAs (miRNAs); posttranscriptional gene regulation; cellular pathways; target mRNA; down-regulating their translation; miRNA coding

Full Text: PDF (HHS Public Access Author Manuscript, originally deposited in PubMed Central, PMCID: PMC3315687)

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