Department of Nanobio Drug Discovery, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
FEBS J. 2011 May;278(10):1598-609. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2011.08089.x. Epub 2011 Mar 30.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) comprise species of short noncoding RNA that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. Recent studies have demonstrated that epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation and histone modification, not only regulate the expression of protein-encoding genes, but also miRNAs, such as let-7a, miR-9, miR-34a, miR-124, miR-137, miR-148 and miR-203. Conversely, another subset of miRNAs controls the expression of important epigenetic regulators, including DNA methyltransferases, histone deacetylases and polycomb group genes. This complicated network of feedback between miRNAs and epigenetic pathways appears to form an epigenetics-miRNA regulatory circuit, and to organize the whole gene expression profile. When this regulatory circuit is disrupted, normal physiological functions are interfered with, contributing to various disease processes. The present minireview details recent discoveries involving the epigenetics-miRNA regulatory circuit, suggesting possible biological insights into gene-regulatory mechanisms that may underlie a variety of diseases.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) 是一类短的非编码 RNA，在后转录水平上调节基因表达。最近的研究表明，表观遗传机制，包括 DNA 甲基化和组蛋白修饰，不仅调节蛋白质编码基因的表达，还调节 miRNA，如 let-7a、miR-9、miR-34a、miR-124、miR-137、miR-148 和 miR-203。相反，另一组 miRNA 控制着重要的表观遗传调节剂的表达，包括 DNA 甲基转移酶、组蛋白去乙酰化酶和 Polycomb 组基因。miRNA 和表观遗传途径之间的这种复杂的反馈网络似乎形成了一个表观遗传学-miRNA 调节回路，并组织了整个基因表达谱。当这个调节回路被破坏时，正常的生理功能受到干扰，导致各种疾病过程。本综述详细介绍了最近涉及表观遗传学-miRNA 调节回路的发现，为可能存在于多种疾病中的基因调控机制提供了可能的生物学见解。
