MicroRNAs are arising as the next generation of diagnostic and therapeutic tools for gene silencing. Studies demonstrated that the miR-29 expression is decreased in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients displaying high levels of human β-secretase (hBACE1). Recent advances toward an effective therapy for AD intend to employ miR-29 to suppress hBACE1 expression and subsequent Amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide. ...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) represent a family of small noncoding RNAs that are found in plants and animals (for recent reviews, see ). miRNAs are expressed in a developmentally and tissue-specific manner and regulate the translational efficiency and stability of partial or fully sequence-complementary mRNAs. miRNAs are excised in a stepwise process from double-stranded RNA precursors that are embedded ...

Recent studies have shown that microRNA (miRNA) regulates gene expression by repressing translation or directing sequence-specific degradation of complementary mRNA. Here, we report new evidence in which miRNA may also function to induce gene expression. By scanning gene promoters in silico for sequences complementary to known miRNAs, we identified a putative miR-373 target site in the promoter...

Synthetic RNA-based systems have increasingly been used for the regulation of eukaryotic gene expression. Due to their structural properties, riboregulators provide a convenient basis for the development of ligand-dependent controllable systems. Here, we demonstrate reversible conditional control of miRNA biogenesis with an aptamer domain as a sensing unit connected to a natural miRNA precursor...

Previously, cancer researchers have been focused on the genes that code proteins. They have considered those effects on tumorigenesis. However, discoveries of microRNAs (miRNAs) have shed a light on the role of non-protein-coding RNAs in tumorigenesis. The first small non-coding RNA, named lin-4 in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) was described by Lee et al in 1993 (Lee et al., 1993). Lin-4 ...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNAs, which bind to messenger RNAs and regulate protein expression. The biosynthesis of miRNAs includes two precursors, a primary miRNA transcript (pri-miRNA) and a shorter pre-miRNA, both of which carry a common stem-loop bearing the mature miRNA. MiR-122 is a liver-specific miRNA with an important role in the life cycle of hepatitis C virus (HCV). It is ...

BACKGROUND To gain insight into potential roles of isomiR spectrum and isomiRs with 3' additions in pre-eclampsia, we performed a comprehensive survey of miRNA repertoire and 3' addition events from placental samples with different degrees of pre-eclampsia by applying SOLiD sequencing platform. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Over 30% isomiRs were detected with 3' non-template additional nucleotides, espe...

Gene regulation modulates RNA expression via transcription factors. Post-transcriptional gene regulation in turn influences the amount of protein product through, for example, microRNAs (miRNAs). Experimental establishment of miRNAs and their effects is complicated and even futile when aiming to establish the entirety of miRNA target interactions. Therefore, computational approaches have been p...

Recent studies have shown that microRNA (miRNA) regulates gene expression by repressing translation or directing sequence-specific degradation of complementary mRNA. Here, we report new evidence in which miRNA may also function to induce gene expression. By scanning gene promoters in silico for sequences complementary to known miRNAs, we identified a putative miR-373 target site in the promoter...