Department of Cardiology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China.
Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2011 Aug;38(8):1572-9. doi: 10.1007/s00259-011-1786-0. Epub 2011 Mar 30.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a novel class of small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression by targeting mRNAs for either cleavage or translational repression. They have been shown to play important roles in a broad range of biological processes including development, cellular differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis. Conventional detection methods, such as northern blot, real-time PCR or microarray, have been used to assess miRNA expression. However, these techniques require the fixation or lysis of cells, and thus cannot be used to study the dynamic function of miRNAs in living cells. Recent remarkable advances in molecular imaging techniques have provided the capability of noninvasive repeated quantitative imaging of tumour or stem cells in living animals. The current brief discussion focuses on the reporter and fluorescent beacon imaging approaches to visualize miRNA expression in living subjects.
微小 RNA（miRNA）是一类新型的小非编码 RNA，通过靶向 mRNAs 进行切割或翻译抑制来调节基因表达。它们已被证明在广泛的生物学过程中发挥重要作用，包括发育、细胞分化、增殖和凋亡。传统的检测方法，如 northern blot、实时 PCR 或微阵列，已被用于评估 miRNA 的表达。然而，这些技术需要细胞的固定或裂解，因此不能用于研究 miRNA 在活细胞中的动态功能。最近分子成像技术的显著进展提供了在活体动物中对肿瘤或干细胞进行非侵入性重复定量成像的能力。目前的简要讨论集中在报告基因和荧光信标成像方法上，用于可视化活体中 miRNA 的表达。
