Carissimi Claudia, Fulci Valerio, Macino Giuseppe
Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Cellulari ed Ematologia, Sezione di Genetica Molecolare, Università La Sapienza, Rome, Italy.
Autoimmun Rev. 2009 May;8(6):520-4. doi: 10.1016/j.autrev.2009.01.008. Epub 2009 Feb 4.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a growing class of evolutionarily conserved small non-coding RNAs that act as key regulators of gene expression at post-transcriptional level by targeting mRNAs for translational repression or degradation. These tiny regulators of gene expression have been shown to have unique tissue-specific, developmental stage-specific and disease-specific patterns. These observations suggest that miRNAs might be essential players in cell differentiation and maintenance of tissue type identity. Indeed, during the last years several studies highlighted that miRNAs play a critical role in the differentiation and function of the adaptive and innate immune systems. This review provides an overview of the miRNAs mode of action and of the important and diverse roles of miRNAs in regulating the development of hematopoietic system and in modulating immune responses. The implications arising in the field of autoimmune diseases will be discussed.
微小RNA（miRNA）是一类不断增加的进化上保守的小非编码RNA，它们通过靶向mRNA进行翻译抑制或降解，在转录后水平作为基因表达的关键调节因子。这些基因表达的微小调节因子已被证明具有独特的组织特异性、发育阶段特异性和疾病特异性模式。这些观察结果表明，miRNA可能是细胞分化和维持组织类型同一性的重要参与者。事实上，在过去几年中，多项研究强调了miRNA在适应性和先天性免疫系统的分化和功能中发挥着关键作用。本综述概述了miRNA的作用模式，以及miRNA在调节造血系统发育和调节免疫反应中的重要且多样的作用。还将讨论自身免疫性疾病领域中出现的相关问题。
