miRNA sponges: soaking up miRNAs for regulation of gene expression

Rasmus O. Bak; Jacob Giehm Mikkelsen

doi:10.1002/wrna.1213

Circular RNAs in Cardiovascular Disease: An Overview

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2017/5135781 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2017 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 66

Author(s):

Ximin Fan ◽

Xinyu Weng ◽

Yifan Zhao ◽

Wei Chen ◽

Tianyi Gan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Cardiovascular Diseases ◽

Noncoding Rna ◽

Essential Role ◽

Closed Loop ◽

Regulation Of Gene Expression ◽

Circular Rna ◽

Circular Rnas ◽

Mirna Sponges

Circular RNA (circRNA), a novel type of endogenous noncoding RNA (ncRNA), has become a research hotspot in recent years. CircRNAs are abundant and stably exist in creatures, and they are found with covalently closed loop structures in which they are quite different from linear RNAs. Nowadays, an increasing number of scientists have demonstrated that circRNAs may have played an essential role in the regulation of gene expression, especially acting as miRNA sponges, and have described the potential mechanisms of several circRNAs in diseases, hinting at their clinical therapeutic values. In this review, the authors summarized the current understandings of the biogenesis and properties of circRNAs and their functions and role as biomarkers in cardiovascular diseases.

Download Full-text

Therapeutic targeting of non-coding RNAs

Essays in Biochemistry ◽

10.1042/bse0540127 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 54 ◽

pp. 127-145 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Thomas C. Roberts ◽

Matthew J.A. Wood

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Antisense Oligonucleotides ◽

Regulation Of Gene Expression ◽

Gene Activation ◽

Mature Mirnas ◽

Transcriptional Gene Silencing ◽

Small Interfering Rnas ◽

Promising Therapeutic Approach ◽

Non Coding Rnas ◽

Mirna Sponges

ncRNAs (non-coding RNAs) are implicated in a wide variety of cellular processes, including the regulation of gene expression. In the present chapter we consider two classes of ncRNA: miRNAs (microRNAs) which are post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression and lncRNAs (long ncRNAs) which mediate interactions between epigenetic remodelling complexes and chromatin. Mutation and misexpression of ncRNAs have been implicated in many disease conditions and, as such, pharmacological modulation of ncRNAs is a promising therapeutic approach. miRNA activity can be antagonized with antisense oligonucleotides which sequester or degrade mature miRNAs, and expressed miRNA sponges which compete with target transcripts for miRNA binding. Conversely, synthetic or expressed miRNA mimics can be used to treat a deficiency in miRNA expression. Similarly, conventional antisense technologies can be used to silence lncRNAs. Targeting promoter-associated RNAs with siRNAs (small interfering RNAs) results in recruitment of chromatin-modifying activities and induces transcriptional gene silencing. Alternatively, targeting natural antisense transcripts with siRNAs or antisense oligonucleotides can abrogate endogenous epigenetic silencing leading to transcriptional gene activation. The ability to modulate gene expression at the epigenetic level presents exciting new opportunities for the treatment of human disease.

Download Full-text

Linking transcription, RNA polymerase II elongation and alternative splicing

Biochemical Journal ◽

10.1042/bcj20200475 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 477 (16) ◽

pp. 3091-3104 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Luciana E. Giono ◽

Alberto R. Kornblihtt

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Alternative Splicing ◽

Rna Polymerase Ii ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Transcription Elongation ◽

Single Gene ◽

Regulation Of Gene Expression ◽

Regulation Of Transcription ◽

Stepping Stones ◽

Eukaryotic Transcription

Gene expression is an intricately regulated process that is at the basis of cell differentiation, the maintenance of cell identity and the cellular responses to environmental changes. Alternative splicing, the process by which multiple functionally distinct transcripts are generated from a single gene, is one of the main mechanisms that contribute to expand the coding capacity of genomes and help explain the level of complexity achieved by higher organisms. Eukaryotic transcription is subject to multiple layers of regulation both intrinsic — such as promoter structure — and dynamic, allowing the cell to respond to internal and external signals. Similarly, alternative splicing choices are affected by all of these aspects, mainly through the regulation of transcription elongation, making it a regulatory knob on a par with the regulation of gene expression levels. This review aims to recapitulate some of the history and stepping-stones that led to the paradigms held today about transcription and splicing regulation, with major focus on transcription elongation and its effect on alternative splicing.

Download Full-text