miRNA功能的研究进展

综述了miRNA功能的最新研究进展。miRNA是一类长度约20~24nt的非编码调控单链小分子RNA,其功能和作用是近年来分子生物学界关注的重点。这些微小的RNA控制着包括细胞增殖、凋亡、器官发生、发育、造血以及肿瘤发生等若干途径。最近研究发现,miRNA可能同时具有肿瘤抑制因子和源癌基因的功能,并且可能在癌症的诊断和治疗中发挥重要的作用。miRNA可以通过影响或者调控细胞增殖、分化过程中的信使RNA和关键蛋白质等参与细胞的发育。此外,miRNA对多种植物激素的调控作用对于植物体的发育也具有重要意义。

Advances in the function of miRNA

The recent discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs) took many by surprise because of their unorthodox features and widespread functions. These tiny, 22-nucleotide, RNAs control several pathways including developmental timing, haematopoiesis, organogenesis, apoptosis, cell proliferation and possible even tumorigenesis. Recent evidence has shown that miRNA mutations or mis-expression correlated with various human cancers and indicated that miRNAs could function as tumour suppressors and oncogenes. miRNAs have shown to repress the expression of important cancer-related genes and might prove useful in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Moreover, miRNAs can regulate mRNAs and key proteins which involve in the proliferation of cells. miRNAs also have great significance to the development of plant. The advances in the functions of microRNAs were summarizes.