Zhu Ping, Yu Jerry, Zhou Ping
Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University Shanghai 200032, China.
Department of Medicine, University of Louisville Louisville 40292, Kentucky, USA.
Am J Cancer Res. 2020 Feb 1;10(2):393-402. eCollection 2020.
Recent studies have revealed that tRNAs are not always the terminal molecules and small RNA fragments can be mapped to precursor tRNA sequences or mature tRNA sequences. tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs) are a novel class of small RNAs in miRNA-size found in a diverse range of organisms and can be the source of small regulatory RNAs, a previously unanticipated concept. tRFs have a diverse range of effects on cells involving in cell differentiation and homeostasis. They play a critical role in pathological processes, particularly in cancer, and therefore can modulate complicated regulatory networks. Recent studies on the role of tRFs in tumorigenesis suggest that they are promising targets for diagnosis and therapeutics. Improvement in experimental and computational approaches permit a greater understanding of the regulatory networks and will have a significant impact on both basic and clinical research.
最近的研究表明，tRNA并不总是末端分子，小RNA片段可以定位到前体tRNA序列或成熟tRNA序列。tRNA衍生片段（tRFs）是一类新发现的小RNA，其大小与miRNA相当，存在于多种生物中，并且可能是小调节RNA的来源，这是一个以前未曾预料到的概念。tRFs对涉及细胞分化和内稳态的细胞具有多种影响。它们在病理过程中，尤其是在癌症中发挥关键作用，因此可以调节复杂的调控网络。最近关于tRFs在肿瘤发生中作用的研究表明，它们是诊断和治疗的有希望的靶点。实验和计算方法的改进有助于更深入地了解调控网络，并将对基础研究和临床研究产生重大影响。
