Department of Biochemistry, YLL School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597, Singapore.
Biochimie. 2010 Mar;92(3):217-25. doi: 10.1016/j.biochi.2009.12.008. Epub 2009 Dec 31.
The discovery of microRNAs has brought in another level of intricacy in gene regulation. These microRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that have dual ability to act as repressors or inducers of gene activity. MicroRNAs have been implicated in a wide spectrum of biological processes and their expressions have been found to be dysregulated in several diseases. Recently, microRNAs have emerged as a new area of interest in renal development and pathology. MicroRNA profilings have revealed a number of microRNAs that are specific to the kidney or restricted to certain regions of the organ suggesting possible exclusive roles therein. Recently, knockout studies have shown that these riboregulators are critical for normal renal growth and functional renal system. Individual microRNAs have also been identified in renal disease models including kidney cancers, diabetic nephropathy and polycystic kidney disease. Several mechanisms of modulating microRNA activity have also been introduced in recent years. Further progress in the understanding of microRNA activity, identification of microRNA signatures in different states as well as advancement of microRNA manipulation techniques will be valuable for kidney research.
微小 RNA 的发现为基因调控带来了另一个层面的复杂性。这些微小 RNA 是具有双重作用的小型非编码 RNA，可以作为基因活性的抑制剂或诱导剂。微小 RNA 参与了广泛的生物学过程，其表达在多种疾病中被发现失调。最近，微小 RNA 已成为肾脏发育和病理学的一个新的研究领域。微小 RNA 分析揭示了许多特定于肾脏或局限于器官特定区域的微小 RNA，提示其可能具有独特的作用。最近的基因敲除研究表明，这些核糖调控因子对于正常肾脏生长和功能肾脏系统至关重要。在包括肾癌、糖尿病肾病和多囊肾病在内的肾脏疾病模型中，也已经鉴定出了个别微小 RNA。近年来，也引入了几种调节微小 RNA 活性的机制。进一步了解微小 RNA 活性、鉴定不同状态下的微小 RNA 特征以及推进微小 RNA 操作技术的进展，将对肾脏研究具有重要价值。
