Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
FEBS Lett. 2012 Jul 4;586(14):1906-12. doi: 10.1016/j.febslet.2012.01.041. Epub 2012 Jan 28.
microRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs conserved in metazoans. Depletion of miRNAs results in embryonic lethality, suggesting they are essential for embryogenesis. Similarly, pathways induced by growth factors of the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) superfamily control cell growth, differentiation, and development. Recently Smad proteins, the signal transducers of the TGF-β pathway, were found to regulate miRNA expression, which, in turn, affects expression of numerous proteins. Smads modulate miRNA expression through both transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms illustrating the complexity of gene regulation by TGF-β. In this chapter we summarize the current knowledge of mechanisms underlying Smad-mediated regulation of miRNA biogenesis.
微小 RNA(miRNAs)是后生动物中保守的小非编码 RNA。miRNAs 的耗竭会导致胚胎致死,表明它们对胚胎发生至关重要。同样,转化生长因子 β(TGF-β)超家族的生长因子诱导的途径控制细胞生长、分化和发育。最近发现,Smad 蛋白,即 TGF-β 途径的信号转导蛋白,调节 miRNA 的表达,进而影响众多蛋白质的表达。Smads 通过转录和转录后机制调节 miRNA 的表达,这说明了 TGF-β 对基因调控的复杂性。在本章中,我们总结了 Smad 介导的 miRNA 生物发生调节的机制的最新知识。