microRNA的调控和被调控

microRNA是一大类长度约22 nt的非编码RNA,可与靶基因的3′-UTR区部分或完全配对结合,进而通过降低靶mRNA的稳定性或抑制翻译而下调目的基因的表达. microRNA不仅参与细胞的增殖、分化、死亡等正常生理过程,而且还与包括癌症在内的诸多病理过程密切相关.microRNA通常位于编码基因的内含子区,主要由RNA聚合酶Ⅱ催化而转录为初始microRNA,接着经过一系列的核内、胞浆内酶切步骤而组装成有功能的RNA诱导的沉默复合体.本文将在简要介绍microRNA生物合成和调控功能的基础上,重点综述microRNA被调控的研究进展,主要包括表观遗传学水平、转录水平、转录后水平和降解的调控.近年来的研究,逐步丰富甚至推翻了以往对microRNA的认识,体现了microRNA生物学的复杂性.可以预见,随着研究的深入,microRNA将在疾病的早期防治中发挥越来越重要的作用.     

p53直接调控microRNA及其靶基因的高通量筛选

通过对676条人microRNA进行筛选,共得到了53条新的具有p53-DNA结合位点且调控p53上游转录因子和下游靶基因的microRNA．结合已有蛋白质互作关系与microRNA调控信息,构建了p53-microRNA相互作用网络图,其中FAS受多条microRNA调控,FAS是介导细胞凋亡的关键因子,因此,FAS-microRNA的相互作用可能在细胞凋亡途径中起着关键的作用．随后,提出了microRNA参与p53调控的假设机制,认为p53调控靶基因与microRNA的同时也受上游转录因子与microRNA的调控,从而形成了以p53为中心的一种平衡,当这种调控平衡一旦被打破则会引起信号通路的紊乱,从而可能引发相应的疾病．对这53条microRNA进行靶基因预测,共得到15 500个靶基因,对这些基因的出现频率进行聚类分析共得到27个簇,将出现频率大于10的基因进行功能注释分析,发现多数基因功能属于近来发现的p53靶基因新的功能分类——细胞粘连和细胞运动,目前研究认为,p53通过与这些具有细胞粘连和运动功能的靶基因结合来抑制肿瘤的迁移．通过对15 500个基因进行功能注释分析,得到了30条感兴趣的参与细胞周期调控、细胞凋亡和细胞增殖的microRNA,其中有9条microRNA于3种生物学进程均有参与,这9条microRNA分别是: hsa-mir-181a-1、hsa-mir-181b-1、hsa-mir-181c、hsa-mir-181d、hsa-mir-195、hsa-mir-497、hsa-mir-495、hsa-mir-543和hsa-mir-548c．这暗示着这9条microRNA在p53信号通路的调节中可能起着关键的作用,它们互相作用共同调节着多个p53信号环路．最后在36个物种的基因组中对这30条microRNA进行了同源性搜索与保守性分析,结果发现有10条高度保守的且为目前数据库所未收录的microRNA．这10条microRNA分别是：hsa-mir-497、hsa-mir-495、hsa-mir-543、hsa-mir-19a、hsa-mir-19b-1、hsa-mir-200b、hsa-mir-448、 hsa-mir-28、hsa-mir-455和hsa-mir-590．     

miR-20b-5p在肿瘤及其他疾病中的生物学功能

miRNAs是一类非编码的小RNA分子,在多种疾病的发病和治疗中发挥重要作用,可调控细胞增殖、细胞周期、凋亡和迁移等过程中关键基因的表达。miR-20b-5p属于miR-17家族,在多种肿瘤中和非肿瘤性疾病中存在异常表达。在肿瘤中,miR-20b-5p扮演着癌基因或抑癌基因的角色,可通过调控相应靶分子的表达影响肿瘤细胞的增殖、凋亡、侵袭与迁移等生物学行为,进而促进或抑制肿瘤的发生发展。该文对miR-20b-5p在肿瘤和非肿瘤性疾病中的生物学功能和机制进行简要综述。相信随着对miR-20b-5p的功能和机制的深入阐明,miR-20b-5p有望作为多种疾病的诊治靶点。     

MicroRNAs与肿瘤

microRNA(miRNA)是一类对基因具有调控功能的内源性非编码小分子RNA,通过与靶mRNA完全或不完全互补配对,引起mRNA降解或翻译抑制,从而对基因转录后水平进行调控.目前认为miRNA在多种生物学过程中起着至关重要的作用,包括细胞增殖、分化、凋亡等.研究显示miRNA的表达异常能导致疾病甚至肿瘤的发生,有类似于抑癌基因或癌基因的功能.本文就miRNA在肿瘤发生和诊断方面的研究进展作一综述.     

MicroRNA在肿瘤发生发展和诊断中作用的研究进展

microRNA是一类由内源基因编码的长度约为18-25个核苷酸的非编码单链RNA分子,可以与靶基因mRNA的3'非编码区结合,通过降解靶m RNA或(和)抑制靶m RNA转录后翻译调节靶蛋白的生成,从而发挥其生物学作用。目前,在人体基因组内发现的microRNA已经超过2500多个,可能调节着人类1/3的基因,在维持正常干细胞功能、调控细胞增殖分化及恶性肿瘤发生过程中均起重要作用。既往的研究表明microRNA与基因之间相互调控的失衡导致肿瘤的发生。从分子水平上研究microRNA与肿瘤发生的关系,检测microRNA与肿瘤相关基因表达情况的改变,分析肿瘤组织和血清中microRNA表达量与肿瘤分型的关系,将有利于肿瘤的病因学研究,早期发现和肿瘤治疗及预后判断。本文主要就microRNA在肿瘤发生发展和诊断中作用的研究进展进行了综述。     

突变型p53与其合成致死基因的研究进展

恶性肿瘤的靶向治疗已经成为现阶段肿瘤治疗的热点。随着人们对癌基因认知的加深,借助合成致死的方法靶向治疗肿瘤已成为针对肿瘤特异性治疗的新策略。p53基因突变在肿瘤的形成和发展过程中具有重要作用。因此,了解肿瘤中与突变型p53基因有合成致死关系的靶基因的作用方式,有助于指导由突变型p53基因诱发肿瘤的个性化治疗。与突变型p53基因具有合成致死关系的靶基因可分为细胞周期调控基因和细胞非周期调控基因,文章综述了这两类靶基因与突变型p53基因如何构成合成致死作用以及此作用的现实意义。     

MicroRNA 与肿瘤的研究进展

microRNA是近年来发现的与基因表达调控相关的一类非编码小分子单链RNA,长度约21-22个碱基对构成,通过与靶mRNA碱基对特异结合,引起靶mRNA降解或翻译抑制,调控基因转录后的表达。microRNA通过干预基因表达,从而对细胞的分化、增殖、凋亡、新陈代谢等多项生命活动进行调控。microRNA的表达异常可以引起细胞的分化、增殖、凋亡的异常,这与肿瘤的发生、发展关系密切。其作为一个新的分子生物学标志,在肿瘤的诊断、治疗中有着重要的潜在价值。     

MicroRNA基因及其靶位点的单核苷酸多态性与疾病易感性

微小RNAs(MicroRNAs)是一类内源性19～25个核苷酸大小的非编码RNA分子,能够通过碱基匹配原则识别并结合于靶基因3'非翻译区的靶位点,从而抑制靶基因的翻译和/或促进靶基因降解。近年许多研究表明,单核苷酸多态性(single nucleotide polymorphisms,SNPs)可影响m icroRNA对靶基因的调控过程。SNPs可发生在m icroRNA基因(指在pri-,pre-and mature-miRNA序列中),也可发生在靶基因的3'非翻译区的靶位点。这些SNPs通过影响microRNA对靶基因的调控过程,参与许多疾病如肿瘤、神经系统疾病、肌肥大、心血管疾病以及2型糖尿病的发生发展过程。本文拟对MicroRNAs及其靶mRNA的结合位点SNPs与疾病的相关研究做一综述。     

let-7 microRNA调控动物器官发育的研究进展

微小RNA（microRNA,miRNA）是一类在进化上高度保守、长度约20～24 nt的小分子非编码RNA,能通过与靶基因3′非翻译区相结合从而抑制靶基因的翻译或降解靶基因。let-7 microRNA是发现较早的一类miRNA,最早在线虫中发现能调控细胞分裂的时序。此后大量证据表明,let-7参与动物多个器官发育的调控过程,并与人类疾病发生密切相关。该文综述了近年来let-7调控动物脑、神经及心肺系统等器官发育的研究成果,初步阐述了let-7调控动物器官发育可能的作用机制,以期为深入研究let-7的功能奠定基础。     

miR-15a靶基因的预测及生物信息学分析

目的:对目前研究较为广泛的miR-15a的靶基因进行预测及相关生物信息学分析,以期为miR-15a靶基因的实验验证提供数据支持,并为深入研究miR-15a的调控机制及生物学功能奠定基础和提供理论指导。方法:选择TargetScan5.1与PicTar两种计算方法预测miR-15a的靶基因的交集作为分析的基因集合,分别进行GO注释描述、GO富集分析和生物通路富集分析。结果与结论:预测靶基因集合分别富集在转录调控、蛋白质修饰、细胞周期等生物学过程和蛋白激酶活性等分子功能上(P0.01);经典miR-15a预测靶基因集合显著富集于KEGG通路数据库中的Wnt信号通路、细胞周期和p53信号通路等5个信号转导通路及前列腺癌、慢性髓细胞性白血病、黑素瘤等7个疾病通路中(P0.05)。     

Key microRNAs in the biology of breast cancer; emerging evidence in the last decade

microRNAs (miRNAs) are a family of small noncoding RNAs that play a pivotal role in the regulation of main biological and physiological processes, including cell cycle regulation, proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, stem cell maintenance, and organ development. Dysregulation of these tiny molecules has been related to different human diseases, such as cancer. It has been estimated that more than 50% of these noncoding RNA sequences are placed on fragile sites or cancer-associated genomic regions. After the discovery of the first specific miRNA signatures in breast cancer, many studies focused on the involvement of these small RNAs in the pathophysiology of breast tumors and their possible clinical implications as reliable prognostic biomarkers or as a new therapeutic approach. Therefore, the present review will focus on the recent findings on the involvement of miRNAs in the biology of breast cancer associated with their clinical implications.     

MicroRNA expression profile of bronchioalveolar stem cells from mouse lung

Increasing evidence has suggested that bronchioalveolar stem cell (BASC) is the progenitor cells of lung cancer stem cells. However, the mechanisms by which self-renewal of BSACs is controlled and how BASCs turn into cancer stem cells still remains to be unknown. In the present study, we successfully isolated bronchioalveolar stem cells (BASCs) from mouse lung using FACS. These BASCs were characterized by clonal growth, self-renewal and high capacity for differentiation, suggesting that these BASCs are indeed stem cells. We investigated the microRNA (miRNA) expression profile of these BASCs using miRNA array and quantitative RT-PCR. We discovered that BASCs possessed a unique miRNA profile, with altered expression of several microRNAs, such as miR-142-3p, miR-451, miR-106a, miR-142-5p, miR-15b, miR-20a, miR-106b, miR-25, miR-486, in BASCs compared to control cells. Our results suggest that microRNAs might play important roles in maintaining the self-renewal capacity of BASCs, and suggest the intriguing possibility that aberrant expression of microRNAs could involved in turning BASCs into lung cancer stem cells.     

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells for post-myocardial infarction cardiac repair: microRNAs as novel regulators

Transplantation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is safe and may improve cardiac function and structural remodelling in patients following myocardial infarction (MI). Cardiovascular cell differentiation and paracrine effects to promote endogenous cardiac regeneration, neovascularization, anti-inflammation, anti-apoptosis, anti-remodelling and cardiac contractility, may contribute to MSC-based cardiac repair following MI. However, current evidence indicates that the efficacy of MSC transplantation was unsatisfactory, due to the poor viability and massive death of the engrafted MSCs in the infarcted myocardium. MicroRNAs are short endogenous, conserved, non-coding RNAs and important regulators involved in numerous facets of cardiac pathophysiologic processes. There is an obvious involvement of microRNAs in almost every facet of putative repair mechanisms of MSC-based therapy in MI, such as stem cell differentiation, neovascularization, apoptosis, cardiac remodelling, cardiac contractility and arrhythmias, and others. It is proposed that therapeutic modulation of individual cardiovascular microRNA of MSCs, either mimicking or antagonizing microRNA actions, will hopefully enhance MSC therapeutic efficacy. In addition, MSCs may be manipulated to enhance functional microRNA expression or to inhibit aberrant microRNA levels in a paracrine manner. We hypothesize that microRNAs may be used as novel regulators in MSC-based therapy in MI and MSC transplantation by microRNA regulation may represent promising therapeutic strategy for MI patients in the future.     

ABC transporters, neural stem cells and neurogenesis--a different perspective

Stem cells intrigue. They have the ability to divide exponentially, recreate the stem cell compartment, as well as create differentiated cells to generate tissues. Therefore, they should be natural candidates to provide a renewable source of cells for transplantation applied in regenerative medicine. Stem cells have the capacity to generate specific tissues or even whole organs like the blood, heart, or bones. A subgroup of stem cells, the neural stem cells （NSCs）, is characterized as a self-renewing population that generates neurons and glia of the developing brain. They can be isolated, genetically manipulated and differentiated in vitro and reintroduced into a developing, adult or a pathologically altered central nervous system. NSCs have been considered for use in cell replacement therapies in various neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson＇s disease and Alzheimer＇s disease. Characterization of genes with tightly controlled expression patterns during differentiation represents an approach to understanding the regulation of stem cell commitment. The regulation of stem cell biology by the ATP-binding cassette （ABC） transporters has emerged as an important new field of investigation. As a major focus of stem cell research is in the manipulation of cells to enable differentiation into a targeted cell population; in this review, we discuss recent literatures on ABC transporters and stem cells, and propose an integrated view on the role of the ABC transporters, especially ABCA2, ABCA3, ABCB 1 and ABCG2, in NSCs＇ proliferation, differentiation and regulation, along with comparisons to that in hematopoietic and other stem cells.     

Long non‐coding RNA TCONS_00041960 enhances osteogenesis and inhibits adipogenesis of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell by targeting miR‐204‐5p and miR‐125a‐3p

A growing number of long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been found to be involved in diverse biological processes such as cell cycle regulation, embryonic development, and cell differentiation. However, limited knowledge is available concerning the underlying mechanisms of lncRNA functions. In this study, we found down‐regulation of TCONS_00041960 during adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation of glucocorticoid‐treated bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). Furthermore, up‐regulation of TCONS_00041960 promoted expression of osteogenic genes Runx2, osterix, and osteocalcin, and anti‐adipogenic gene glucocorticoid‐induced leucine zipper (GILZ). Conversely, expression of adipocyte‐specific markers was decreased in the presence of over‐expressed TCONS_00041960. Mechanistically, we determined that TCONS_00041960 as a competing endogenous RNA interacted with miR‐204‐5p and miR‐125a‐3p to regulate Runx2 and GILZ, respectively. Overall, we identified a new TCONS_00041960‐miR‐204‐5p/miR‐125a‐3p‐Runx2/GILZ axis involved in regulation of adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation of glucocorticoid‐treated BMSCs.