Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA; email:
Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King's College London, London SE1 1UL, United Kingdom; email:
Annu Rev Vis Sci. 2018 Sep 15;4:25-44. doi: 10.1146/annurev-vision-091517-034357. Epub 2018 Jun 11.
The small RNA regulatory molecules called microRNAs (miRNAs) play key roles in the development of most organisms. The expression of many different miRNAs has been described in the developing and mature vertebrate retina. The ability of miRNAs to regulate a diversity of messenger RNA targets allows them to have effects on many different developmental processes, but the functions of only a few miRNAs have been documented to date. Developmental transitions between cell states appear to be particularly sensitive to miRNA loss of function, as evidenced by specific miRNA knockdowns or from global perturbations in miRNA levels (e.g., Dicer deletion). However, we are still in only the very early stages of understanding the range of cellular functions miRNAs control during development.
称为 microRNAs（miRNAs）的小分子 RNA 调节分子在大多数生物体的发育中发挥关键作用。在发育和成熟的脊椎动物视网膜中已经描述了许多不同的 miRNAs 的表达。miRNAs 调节多种信使 RNA 靶标的能力使它们能够对许多不同的发育过程产生影响，但迄今为止只有少数几个 miRNAs 的功能得到了证实。细胞状态之间的发育转变似乎对 miRNA 功能丧失特别敏感，这可以从特定的 miRNA 敲低或 miRNA 水平的全局干扰（例如 Dicer 删除）中得到证明。然而，我们仍处于理解 miRNAs 在发育过程中控制的细胞功能范围的早期阶段。
