Klinik für Frauenheilkunde und Geburtshilfe, Abteilung für Geburtshilfe, Placenta-Labor, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Bachstr. 18, 07743 Jena, Germany.
J Reprod Immunol. 2011 Mar;88(2):106-11. doi: 10.1016/j.jri.2011.01.004. Epub 2011 Feb 25.
Since the discovery of non-coding RNAs, several families of small regulatory molecules have been described including small nucleolar RNAs, piwi-interacting RNAs and microRNAs (miRNAs). MiRNAs are small single-stranded RNA molecules which play an important role in the regulation of gene expression at the transcriptional level. Recent studies demonstrated that about 30% of human genes are regulated by miRNAs and their deregulation has been associated with malignancies and poor outcome. Therefore, it is not surprising that profiling of miRNAs expression and studies on their regulation became a great field of interest in the last decade. However, miRNA-mediated regulation in pregnancy remains poorly investigated although several independent processes associated with placenta development have been shown to be miRNA-regulated. This review provides a general overview of the current data on profiles and functions of microRNAs in the peri-implantation period, embryonic stem cells, placentation and pregnancy, as well as in several pregnancy-related pathologies. We conclude that miRNAs present in the maternal circulation may provide a new promising diagnostic tool for pregnancy disorders.
自非编码 RNA 被发现以来，已经描述了几种小的调节分子家族，包括小核仁 RNA、piwi 相互作用 RNA 和 microRNAs（miRNAs）。miRNAs 是小的单链 RNA 分子，在转录水平上调节基因表达中起着重要作用。最近的研究表明，约 30%的人类基因受 miRNAs 调控，其失调与恶性肿瘤和不良预后有关。因此，miRNAs 表达谱分析及其调控研究成为过去十年的一个重要研究领域也就不足为奇了。然而，尽管已经证明与胎盘发育相关的几个独立过程是受 miRNA 调控的，但 miRNA 介导的妊娠调控仍未得到充分研究。本文综述了 miRNA 在着床前阶段、胚胎干细胞、胎盘形成和妊娠以及几种与妊娠相关的病理中的表达谱和功能的最新数据。我们得出结论，母体循环中的 miRNAs 可能为妊娠疾病提供一种新的有前途的诊断工具。
