Nakahara Kenji, Carthew Richard W
Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Cell Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA.
Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2004 Apr;16(2):127-33. doi: 10.1016/j.ceb.2004.02.006.
The role of small RNAs as key regulators of mRNA turnover and translation has been well established. Recent advances indicate that the small RNAs termed microRNAs play important roles in cell proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation. Moreover, the microRNA mechanism is an efficient means to regulate production of a diverse range of proteins. As new microRNAs and their mRNA targets rapidly emerge, it is becoming apparent that RNA-based regulation of mRNAs may rival ubiquitination as a mechanism to control protein levels.
小RNA作为mRNA周转和翻译的关键调节因子的作用已得到充分证实。最近的进展表明，被称为微小RNA的小RNA在细胞增殖、凋亡和分化中发挥重要作用。此外，微小RNA机制是调节多种蛋白质产生的有效手段。随着新的微小RNA及其mRNA靶标迅速涌现，基于RNA对mRNA的调节作为一种控制蛋白质水平的机制，可能与泛素化作用相媲美，这一点变得越来越明显。
