Life Science Research Center, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2013;774:169-87. doi: 10.1007/978-94-007-5590-1_10.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and transcription factors (TFs) are two major classes of trans-regulators in gene regulatory networks. Coordination between miRNAs and TFs has been demonstrated by individual studies on developmental processes and the pathogenesis of various cancers. Systematic computational approaches have an advantage in elucidating global network features of the miRNA-TF coordinated regulation. miRNAs and TFs have distinct molecular and evolutionary properties. In particular, miRNA genes have a rapid turnover of birth-and-death processes during evolution, and their effects are widespread but modest. Therefore, miRNAs and TFs are considered to have different contributions to their coordination. The miRNA-TF coordinated feedforward circuits are considered to cause significant increases in redundancy but drastically reduce the target gene repertoire, which poses the question, to what extent is miRNA-TF coordination beneficial? Evolutionary analyses provide wide perspectives on the features of miRNA-TF coordinated regulatory networks at a systems level.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) 和转录因子 (TFs) 是基因调控网络中两种主要的转录调节剂。在发育过程和各种癌症的发病机制的个别研究中已经证明了 miRNAs 和 TFs 之间的协调。系统的计算方法在阐明 miRNA-TF 协调调控的全局网络特征方面具有优势。miRNAs 和 TFs 具有不同的分子和进化特性。特别是，miRNA 基因在进化过程中具有快速的生死过程，其作用广泛但适度。因此，miRNAs 和 TFs 被认为对其协调有不同的贡献。miRNA-TF 协调的前馈电路被认为会导致冗余度显著增加，但靶基因库急剧减少，这就提出了一个问题，miRNA-TF 协调在多大程度上是有益的？进化分析为 miRNA-TF 协调调控网络的系统水平的特征提供了广泛的视角。
