Beijing Key Laboratory of Cardiometabolic Molecular Medicine, Institute of Molecular Medicine, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Essays Biochem. 2020 Dec 7;64(6):947-954. doi: 10.1042/EBC20200028.
microRNAs (miRNAs) play essential roles in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and early embryo development. The exact mechanism by which miRNAs regulate cell fate transition during embryo development is still not clear. Recent studies have identified and captured various pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) that share similar characteristics with cells from different stages of pre- and post-implantation embryos. These PSCs provide valuable models to understand miRNA functions in early mammalian development. In this short review, we will summarize recent work towards understanding the function and mechanism of miRNAs in regulating the transition or conversion between different pluripotent states. In addition, we will highlight unresolved questions and key future directions related to miRNAs in pluripotent state transition. Studies in these areas will further our understanding of miRNA functions in early embryo development, and may lead to practical means to control human PSCs for clinical applications in regenerative medicine.
微小 RNA（miRNAs）在小鼠胚胎干细胞（ESCs）和早期胚胎发育中发挥着重要作用。miRNAs 在胚胎发育过程中调节细胞命运转变的确切机制尚不清楚。最近的研究已经鉴定和捕获了各种多能干细胞（PSCs），它们与不同阶段的植入前和植入后胚胎细胞具有相似的特征。这些 PSCs 为理解 miRNA 在早期哺乳动物发育中的功能提供了有价值的模型。在这篇简短的综述中，我们将总结最近关于 miRNA 调节不同多能状态之间转变或转换的功能和机制的研究。此外，我们还将强调与多能状态转变相关的 miRNA 未解决的问题和关键未来方向。这些领域的研究将进一步加深我们对 miRNA 在早期胚胎发育中功能的理解，并可能为控制人类 PSCs 用于再生医学的临床应用提供实用手段。
