Bianchi Marzia, Renzini Alessandra, Adamo Sergio, Moresi Viviana
DAHFMO Unit of Histology and Medical Embryology, Interuniversity Institute of Myology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Antonio Scarpa 14, 00161 Rome, Italy.
Laboratory of Cardiovascular Endocrinology, IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana, 00166 Rome, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2017 Apr 15;18(4):840. doi: 10.3390/ijms18040840.
Epigenetics plays a pivotal role in regulating gene expression in development, in response to cellular stress or in disease states, in virtually all cell types. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding RNA molecules that mediate RNA silencing and regulate gene expression. miRNAs were discovered in 1993 and have been extensively studied ever since. They can be expressed in a tissue-specific manner and play a crucial role in tissue development and many biological processes. miRNAs are responsible for changes in the cell epigenome because of their ability to modulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. Recently, numerous studies have shown that miRNAs and other epigenetic factors can regulate each other or cooperate in regulating several biological processes. On the one hand, the expression of some miRNAs is silenced by DNA methylation, and histone modifications have been demonstrated to modulate miRNA expression in many cell types or disease states. On the other hand, miRNAs can directly target epigenetic factors, such as DNA methyltransferases or histone deacetylases, thus regulating chromatin structure. Moreover, several studies have reported coordinated actions between miRNAs and other epigenetic mechanisms to reinforce the regulation of gene expression. This paper reviews multiple interactions between miRNAs and epigenetic factors in skeletal muscle development and in response to stimuli or disease.
表观遗传学在调控几乎所有细胞类型的发育过程、对细胞应激的反应或疾病状态下的基因表达中起着关键作用。微小RNA（miRNA）是短的非编码RNA分子，介导RNA沉默并调控基因表达。miRNA于1993年被发现，此后得到了广泛研究。它们可以以组织特异性的方式表达，并在组织发育和许多生物学过程中发挥关键作用。由于miRNA能够在转录后调节基因表达，因此它们与细胞表观基因组的变化有关。最近，大量研究表明，miRNA与其他表观遗传因子可以相互调节，或在调控多个生物学过程中协同作用。一方面，一些miRNA的表达会因DNA甲基化而沉默，并且在许多细胞类型或疾病状态下，组蛋白修饰已被证明可调节miRNA表达。另一方面，miRNA可以直接靶向表观遗传因子，如DNA甲基转移酶或组蛋白脱乙酰酶，从而调节染色质结构。此外，一些研究报道了miRNA与其他表观遗传机制之间的协同作用，以加强对基因表达的调控。本文综述了miRNA与表观遗传因子在骨骼肌发育、对刺激或疾病的反应中的多种相互作用。
