Intragenic MicroRNAs Binding Sites in MRNAs of Genes Involved in Carcinogenesis

MiRNAs participate in gene regulation of translation. Some studies have investigated the interactions between genes and intragenic miRNAs. It is important to study the miRNA binding sites of genes involved in carcinogenesis. RNAHybrid 2.1 and ERNAhybrid programmes were used to compute the hybridization free energy of miRNA binding sites. Of these 54 mRNAs, 22.6%, 37.7%, and 39.7% of miRNA binding sites were present in the 5′UTRs, CDSs, and 3′UTRs, respectively. The density of the binding sites for miRNAs in the 5′UTR ranged from 1.6 to 43.2 times and from 1.8 to 8.0 times greater than in the CDS and 3′UTR, respectively. Three types of miRNA interactions with mRNAs have been revealed: 5′dominant canonical, 3′-compensatory, and complementary binding sites. MiRNAs regulate gene expression, and information on the interactions between miRNAs and mRNAs could be useful in molecular medicine. We recommend that newly described sites undergo validation by experimental investigation. Keywords—Exon, intron, miRNA, oncogene.