Open AccessMicroRNAs: Small RNAs With Big Effects
Author(s) -
Dany Anglicheau,
Thangamani Muthukumar,
Manikkam Suthanthiran
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
transplantation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.45
H-Index - 204
eISSN - 1534-6080
pISSN - 0041-1337
DOI - 10.1097/tp.0b013e3181e913c2
Subject(s) - microrna , biology , transcriptome , rna , small rna , computational biology , non coding rna , deep sequencing , gene , transplantation , genetics , gene expression , genome , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , surgery
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are evolutionarily conserved, small ( approximately 20-25 nucleotides), single-stranded molecules that suppress the expression of protein-coding genes by translational repression, messenger RNA degradation, or both. More than 700 miRNAs have been identified in the human genome. Amazingly, a single miRNA can regulate the expression of hundreds of mRNAs or proteins within a cell. The small RNAs are fast emerging as master regulators of innate and adaptive immunity and likely to play a pivotal role in transplantation. The clinical application of RNA sequencing ("next-generation sequencing") should facilitate transcriptome profiling at an unprecedented resolution. We provide an overview of miRNA biology and their hypothesized roles in transplantation.