University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester MA, USA.
Postepy Biochem. 2024 May 23;70(1):62-70. doi: 10.18388/pb.2021_515.
MicroRNAs are small RNAs that enable parts of the genome to regulate the other parts of the genome by RNA::RNA complementarity. Genes that encode microRNAs function as trans-acting regulators of hundreds of other genes, primarily by inhibiting the production of protein from mRNAs to which the microRNAs can bind by base pairing. MicroRNAs and their Argonaute partner proteins constitute a regulatory complex (the miRISC) that exhibits astonishing regulatory versatility. microRNAs have been shown to perform diverse roles in genetic regulatory networks (GRNs) - to control developmental switches, to dampen gene expression noise, to coordinate multigene functional modules, and more broadly, to confer robustness and resilience to developmental and homeostatic processes. Genetic analysis reveals that the function of particular microRNAs can be conditional, such that the microRNA is required under particular environmental or physiological conditions, but relatively dispensable under other conditions. The diversity and versatility of microRNA function in animal systems reflects the many ways that miRISC can be regulated by cellular signaling pathways, and the structure-function interplay among microRNA, target, and Argonaute.
微 RNA 是一种小 RNA，它通过 RNA:RNA 互补使基因组的一部分能够调控基因组的其他部分。编码微 RNA 的基因作为数百个其他基因的反式作用调节剂发挥作用，主要通过抑制与微 RNA 可以通过碱基配对结合的 mRNAs 的蛋白质的产生。微 RNA 及其 Argonaute 伴侣蛋白构成一个具有惊人调控多功能性的调控复合物（miRISK）。已经表明，微 RNA 在遗传调控网络（GRNs）中发挥着多样化的作用——控制发育开关、抑制基因表达噪声、协调多基因功能模块，更广泛地说，赋予发育和动态平衡过程的稳健性和弹性。遗传分析表明，特定微 RNA 的功能可能是条件性的，例如，在特定的环境或生理条件下需要微 RNA，但在其他条件下相对可有可无。动物系统中微 RNA 功能的多样性和多功能性反映了 miRISC 可以通过细胞信号通路以及微 RNA、靶标和 Argonaute 之间的结构-功能相互作用来调节的多种方式。
