The let-7 miRNA regulates developmental timing in C. elegans and is an important paradigm for investigations of miRNA functions in mammalian development. We have examined the role of miRNA precursor processing in the temporal control and lineage specificity of the let-7 miRNA. In situ hybridization (ISH) in E9.5 mouse embryos revealed early induction of let-7 in the developing central nervous s...

Neurodegenerative Parkinson's disease (PD) is a multi-factorial disorder lacking complete cure. Understanding the complete mechanism of initiation and progression of this disease has been quite challenging; however, progress has been made toward deciphering certain genetic aspects related to the disease condition. Genetics studies have provided clues toward the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in var...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small regulatory RNAs that regulate gene expression posttranscriptionally by base pairing to the target mRNAs in animal cells. KRas, an oncogene known to be repressed by let-7a miRNAs, is expressed and needed for the differentiation of mammalian sympathetic neurons and PC12 cells. We documented a loss of let-7a activity during this differentiation process without any sign...

BACKGROUND MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, noncoding RNA molecules of 20 to 22 nucleotides that regulate gene expression by binding to their 3' untranslated region (3'UTR). Increasing data implicate altered miRNA participation in the progress of cancer. We previously reported that CYP2J2 epoxygenase promotes human cancer phenotypes. But whether and how CYP2J2 is regulated by miRNA is not understo...

BACKGROUND Acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (AE-IPF) has high short-term mortality with unknown causes. To predict this malignant condition in clinics is challenging. In this study, we aim to demonstrate whether there are miRNAs that differ between AE-IPF and stable IPF, which may be served as reliable biomarker for AE-IPF prediction. METHODS Human fibrotic-associated miRNA...

Ewing's sarcoma family tumors (ESFT) are the second most common bone malignancy in children and young adults, characterized by unique chromosomal translocations that in 85% of cases lead to expression of the EWS-FLI-1 fusion protein. EWS-FLI-1 functions as an aberrant transcription factor that can both induce and suppress members of its target gene repertoire. We have recently demonstrated that...

It has been well confirmed ox-LDL plays key roles in the development of atherosclerosis via binding to LOX-1 and inducing apoptosis in vascular endothelial cells. Recent studies have shown ox-LDL can suppress microRNA has-let-7g, which in turn inhibits the ox-LDL induced apoptosis. However, details need to be uncovered. To determine the anti-atherosclerosis effect of microRNA has-let-7g, and to...

The let-7 microRNA (miRNA) gene of Caenorhabditis elegans controls the timing of developmental events. let-7 is conserved throughout bilaterian phylogeny and has multiple paralogs. Here, we show that the paralog mir-84 acts synergistically with let-7 to promote terminal differentiation of the hypodermis and the cessation of molting in C. elegans. Loss of mir-84 exacerbates phenotypes caused by ...