Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, University of Kentucky, College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA.
Islets. 2009 Nov-Dec;1(3):283-5. doi: 10.4161/isl.1.3.9968.
Small, non-coding ribonucleotides called micro RNAs (miRNAs) have recently emerged as important regulators of cell function. MiRNAs regulate gene expression mainly by binding to the 3' UTR of mRNAs and thereby inhibit the translation of target mRNAs. The abundance of many miRNAs is altered under physiological and pathophysiological conditions, such as cancer and neurodegeneration. Recent data suggest that miRNAs also have an important role in regulation of insulin gene transcription, insulin secretion, and pancreatic islet cell function. An interesting study by Joglekar et al. published in this issue of ISLETS suggests that the miR-30 family of miRNAs may control the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition of primary cultures of human pancreatic epithelial cells by negatively regulating the translation of mesenchymal gene transcripts such as vimentin. These findings are in agreement with previous data that suggest an important role for one of the miR-30 family members (miR-30d) in insulin gene expression in pancreatic beta cells. In summary, the report by Joglekar et al provides a significant advancement in understanding the role of miRNAs in pancreatic islet development and suggests that manipulation of miR-30 family of miRNA expression may provide an important means to generate and expand pancreatic beta cells from human fetal pancreatic progenitors.
小的非编码核糖核酸小分子 miRNAs（microRNAs）最近成为细胞功能的重要调控因子。miRNAs 主要通过与 mRNAs 的 3'UTR 结合来调节基因表达，从而抑制靶 mRNAs 的翻译。在生理和病理生理条件下，如癌症和神经退行性变，许多 miRNAs 的丰度会发生改变。最近的数据表明，miRNAs 在调节胰岛素基因转录、胰岛素分泌和胰岛细胞功能方面也具有重要作用。Joglekar 等人在本期 ISLETS 上发表的一项有趣研究表明，miR-30 家族 miRNA 可能通过负调控间充质基因转录物（如波形蛋白）的翻译来控制人胰腺上皮细胞原代培养物的上皮-间充质转化。这些发现与先前的数据一致，表明 miR-30 家族成员之一（miR-30d）在胰腺β细胞中的胰岛素基因表达中具有重要作用。总之，Joglekar 等人的报告在理解 miRNAs 在胰岛发育中的作用方面取得了重大进展，并表明 miRNA 表达的 miR-30 家族的操纵可能为从人胎儿胰腺祖细胞中生成和扩增胰腺β细胞提供了一种重要手段。
