Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Proc Am Thorac Soc. 2011 May;8(2):163-6. doi: 10.1513/pats.201007-054MS.
Messenger RNAs (mRNAs) contain prominent untranslated regions (UTRs) that are increasingly recognized to play roles in mRNA processing, transport, stability, and translation. 3' UTRs are believed to harbor recognition sites for a diverse set of RNA-binding proteins that regulate gene expression as well as most active microRNA target sites. Although the roles of 3' UTRs in the normal and diseased lung have not yet been studied extensively, available evidence suggests important roles for 3' UTRs in lung development, inflammation, asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, and cancer. Systematic, genome-wide approaches are beginning to catalog functional elements within 3' UTRs and identify the proteins and microRNAs that interact with these elements. Application of new data sets and experimental approaches should provide powerful insights into how 3' UTR-mediated regulatory events contribute to disease and may inspire novel therapeutic approaches.
信使 RNA（mRNA）含有突出的非翻译区（UTR），这些区域越来越被认为在 mRNA 处理、运输、稳定性和翻译中发挥作用。3'UTR 被认为含有一组不同的 RNA 结合蛋白的识别位点，这些蛋白调节基因表达以及大多数活跃的 microRNA 靶位点。尽管 3'UTR 在正常和患病肺部中的作用尚未得到广泛研究，但现有证据表明 3'UTR 在肺发育、炎症、哮喘、肺纤维化和癌症中发挥着重要作用。系统的、全基因组的方法开始对 3'UTR 内的功能元件进行编目，并确定与这些元件相互作用的蛋白质和 microRNA。新数据集和实验方法的应用应该为 3'UTR 介导的调节事件如何导致疾病提供有力的见解，并可能激发新的治疗方法。
