Cancer Research Institute, Department of Neurosurgery, School of Basic Medical Science, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China.
The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis of the Chinese Ministry of Health and the Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of the Chinese Ministry of Education, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China.
Int J Biol Sci. 2021 Feb 8;17(3):807-817. doi: 10.7150/ijbs.55120. eCollection 2021.
The self-renewal, pluripotency and differentiation of stem cells are regulated by various genetic and epigenetic factors. As a kind of RNA binding protein (RBP), the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) can act as "RNA scaffold" and recruit mRNA, lncRNA, microRNA and circRNA to affect mRNA splicing and processing, regulate gene transcription and post-transcriptional translation, change genome structure, and ultimately play crucial roles in the biological processes of cells. Recent researches have demonstrated that hnRNPs are irreplaceable for self-renewal and differentiation of stem cells. hnRNPs function in stem cells by multiple mechanisms, which include regulating mRNA stability, inducing alternative splicing of mRNA, epigenetically regulate gene expression, and maintaining telomerase activity and telomere length. The functions and the underlying mechanisms of hnRNPs in stem cells deserve further investigation.
干细胞的自我更新、多能性和分化受多种遗传和表观遗传因素的调节。作为一种 RNA 结合蛋白 (RBP)，异质核核糖核蛋白 (hnRNPs) 可以作为“RNA 支架”，招募 mRNA、lncRNA、microRNA 和 circRNA，影响 mRNA 剪接和加工，调节基因转录和转录后翻译，改变基因组结构，最终在细胞的生物学过程中发挥关键作用。最近的研究表明，hnRNPs 对干细胞的自我更新和分化是不可或缺的。hnRNPs 通过多种机制在干细胞中发挥作用，包括调节 mRNA 的稳定性、诱导 mRNA 的可变剪接、表观遗传调控基因表达以及维持端粒酶活性和端粒长度。hnRNPs 在干细胞中的功能和潜在机制值得进一步研究。
