A combined computational-experimental approach predicts human microRNA targets

2004/11/8 Chao Yu Pan

Abstract :

 

  MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNAs that regulate the expression of complementary messenger RNAs. miRNAs associate with various proteins to form riboprotein silencing complexes, which bind miRNA recognition elements (MREs) to suppress expression. Although a large number of miRNAs have been reported, researchers have yet to identify targets for these miRNAs. In this paper, authors demonstrate a combined experimental genetics and bioinformatics approach to identify human additional miRNA-regulated genes, and generate a computational program “DIANA-microT” to identify and predict mRNA targets which bearing single MREs for human and mouse miRNAs. Their findings reveal new insights into the prediction of MREs for a given miRNA, and the structural rules governing gene silencing by miRNA-MRE complexes.

 

From Genes Dev. 2004 May 15;18(10):1165-78. Epub 2004 May 06.

 

References :

 

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2.          David P. Bartel. (2004) MicroRNAs: Genomics, Biogenesis, Mechanism, and Function. Cell, vol.116, 281-297.

3.          V. Narry Kim. (2004) MicroRNA precursors in motion: exportin-5 mediates their nuclear export. TRENDS in Cell Biology Vol.14 No.4.