Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
RNA Biol. 2010 May-Jun;7(3):333-8. doi: 10.4161/rna.7.3.12085. Epub 2010 May 14.
A number of lower vertebrates including urodele amphibians and teleost fish are remarkably adept at repairing and regenerating damaged tissues and organs. Freshwater planarians are even more amazing, capable of regenerating entire body plans from small amputated fragments. In contrast, mammalian regenerative capacity is quite limited but of intense interest, especially related to human health and disease. For those organisms capable of robust regeneration, a common theme is the use of stem cells to replace complex tissues. Key questions remain as to the origin of these cells, whether there are pools of such cells that migrate to injured regions or whether they are generated on site. Beyond their origin, how are the genetic pathways that enable differentiation into multiple cell types and tissues regulated? microRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that have recently been shown to play important roles in controlling stem cell self-renewal, proliferation and differentiation. Some of these are thought to be required to maintain "stemness". Here, we summarize recent work on the role of miRNAs in stem cells and their roles during regeneration.
包括有尾两栖类和硬骨鱼在内的许多低等脊椎动物在修复和再生受损组织和器官方面非常出色。淡水涡虫更令人惊奇，它们能够从小的截肢碎片中再生出完整的身体计划。相比之下，哺乳动物的再生能力相当有限，但却引起了极大的兴趣，尤其是与人类健康和疾病有关。对于那些能够进行强有力再生的生物体来说，一个共同的主题是利用干细胞来替代复杂的组织。这些细胞的来源、是否存在迁移到受损区域的此类细胞池，或者它们是否在现场生成，仍然是关键问题。除了它们的起源之外，如何调节使它们分化成多种细胞类型和组织的遗传途径呢？ microRNAs（miRNAs）是小型非编码 RNA，最近已被证明在控制干细胞自我更新、增殖和分化方面发挥重要作用。其中一些被认为是维持“干性”所必需的。在这里，我们总结了最近关于 miRNAs 在干细胞中的作用及其在再生过程中的作用的研究。
