Abstract
microRNAs (miRNAs) constitute a unique class of endogenous small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. Studies over the past decade have uncovered a recurring paradigm in which miRNAs are key regulators of cellular behavior under various physiological and pathological conditions. Most surprising is the recent observation that miRNAs have emerged as competent players in somatic cell reprogramming, suggesting an especially significant role for these small RNAs in cell fate settings. Here, we discuss the possible mechanisms underlying miRNA-mediated cell programming (i.e., the development and differentiation of embryonic stem cells) and reprogramming (i.e., turning somatic cells into pluripotent stem cells or other lineages), and provide a "Helm" model of miRNAs in cell fate decision and conversion.
Highlights
Key Laboratory of Gene Engineering of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
The most stunning example is that miRNAs help to orchestrate developmental events throughout embryonic development by regulating the temporal transitions in gene expression associated with cell fate progression and differentiation, which is well-characterized in lower animals such as Caenorhabditis elegans [9]
MiRNAs have a high potential for use in cell reprogramming for the following reasons
Summary
Key Laboratory of Gene Engineering of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) constitute a unique class of endogenous small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. Most surprising is the recent observation that miRNAs have emerged as competent players in somatic cell reprogramming, suggesting an especially significant role for these small RNAs in cell fate settings. MiRNA(s), cell fate, development, differentiation, embryonic stem cells, reprogramming, iPS, transdifferentiation. Unlike messenger RNAs (mRNAs), ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), or transfer RNAs (tRNAs) that directly take part in protein biosynthesis, miRNAs [2] and other small RNAs [3], or large non-coding RNAs which were found later [4], primarily function as regulatory molecules and modulate the expression of genes at multiple levels, directly or indirectly. It is widely recognized that a complicated “RNA regulatory network” controls many, if not all, gene activities within a cell, including DNA and histone modification, structural dynamics of chromosome, gene transcription, RNA processing, transport, protein synthesis, and degradation [5]
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