Biotech Research and Innovation Centre and Centre for Epigenetics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Gene. 2010 Feb 1;451(1-2):1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2009.11.008. Epub 2009 Nov 24.
microRNAs are small RNAs that regulate protein synthesis post-transcriptionally. Animal microRNAs recognize their targets by incomplete base pairing to sequence motifs most often present in the 3' untranslated region of their target mRNAs. This partial complementarity vastly expands the repertoire of potential targets and constitutes a problem for computational target prediction. Although computational analyses have shed light on important aspects of microRNA target recognition, several questions remain regarding how microRNAs can recognize and regulate their targets. Forward experimental approaches allow for an unbiased study of microRNA target recognition and may unveil novel, rare or uncommon target binding patterns. In this review we focus on animal microRNAs and the experimental approaches that have been described for identification of their targets.
microRNAs 是一种小 RNA，能够在后转录水平调控蛋白质合成。动物 microRNAs 通过不完全碱基配对识别其靶标，通常存在于靶标 mRNA 的 3'非翻译区。这种部分互补性极大地扩展了潜在靶标的范围，这对计算靶标预测构成了一个问题。尽管计算分析已经揭示了 microRNA 靶标识别的重要方面，但关于 microRNA 如何识别和调节其靶标仍有几个问题。正向实验方法可以对 microRNA 靶标识别进行无偏研究，并可能揭示新的、罕见或不常见的靶标结合模式。在这篇综述中，我们重点介绍了动物 microRNAs 及其靶标的鉴定方法。
