Hu Yue, Lan Wenjun, Miller Daniel
College of Bioengineering, Qilu University of Technology, No. 3501, Da Xue Rd., Changqing District, Jinan, Shandong, 250353, People's Republic of China.
School of Bioengineering, Qilu University of Technology, No. 3501, Da Xue Rd., Changqing District, Jinan, Shandong, 250353, People's Republic of China.
Methods Mol Biol. 2017;1617:123-131. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7046-9_9.
MiRNA genes (miRNA precursor genes) share some common structural elements with protein genes. As with protein genes, the promoters of miRNA genes are necessary to regulate the expression of miRNA. The computation methods used to find the promoter regions of the protein genes have been applied to miRNA genes and some methods have been designed specifically to find the promoter regions of miRNA genes. The transcription factors (TFs), miRNA, and the targeted genes can form complex regulatory networks in the cells that can be divided into circuits. The miRNA-mediated feed-forward loop (FFL) is the most commonly encountered circuit. The miRNAs can also regulate targeted genes in a collaborative way. Some tools to study these circuits are discussed in this chapter as are some examples of their use.
微小RNA基因（微小RNA前体基因）与蛋白质基因具有一些共同的结构元件。与蛋白质基因一样，微小RNA基因的启动子对于调控微小RNA的表达是必需的。用于寻找蛋白质基因启动子区域的计算方法已应用于微小RNA基因，并且还设计了一些专门用于寻找微小RNA基因启动子区域的方法。转录因子（TFs）、微小RNA和靶基因可在细胞中形成复杂的调控网络，这些网络可分为不同的回路。微小RNA介导的前馈环（FFL）是最常见的回路。微小RNA也可以协同方式调控靶基因。本章将讨论一些研究这些回路的工具以及它们的一些应用实例。
