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Review
. 2009 Jan;13(1):24-38.
doi: 10.1111/j.1582-4934.2008.00534.x.

Advances in microRNAs: implications for immunity and inflammatory diseases

E Sonkoly  1 , A Pivarcsi
Affiliations
Review

Advances in microRNAs: implications for immunity and inflammatory diseases

E Sonkoly et al. J Cell Mol Med. 2009 Jan.

Abstract

Since their discovery in 1993 and the introduction of the term microRNA in 2001, it has become evident that microRNAs (miRNAs) involved in many biological processes, including development, differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis. The function of miRNA the control of protein production in cells by sequence-specific targeting of mRNAs for translational repression or mRNA degradati Interestingly, immune genes are apparently preferentially targeted by miRNAs compared to the average of the human genome, indicat the significance of miRNA-mediated regulation for normal immune responses. Here, we review what is known about the role of miRN in the pathogenesis of immune-related diseases such as chronic inflammatory skin diseases, autoimmunity and viral infections.

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Figures

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The number of identified microRNAs (miRNAs) based on the number of entries listed in the miRBase sequence database, which is the primary repository for published miRNA sequence and annotation data. Each column represents new public releases of the database, from v1.0 to the latest version, v11.0.
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2
The number of microRNA publications each year from 1993 to present based on search for scientific articles by the keyword ‘microRNA’. Note that the term ‘microRNA’ was introduced in 2001, and publications before the introduction of the official term were retrieved by manual search for articles about lin-4 and let-7 the ‘prototype’ miRNAs that were described first. Source: NCBI PubMed. *, as of July 2008.
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The biogenesis of miRNAs. Most MiRNAs are transcribed by RNA polymerase II from the genomic DNA as long (several 100–1000 nt) primary transcripts (pri-miRNA) that are poliadenylated and capped. Next, the RNase III–type enzyme Drosha processes pri-miRNAs in the nucleus, yielding a hairpin precursors (pre-miRNA) consisting of approximately 70 nt. The pre-miRNA hairpins are exported to by a process that involves Exportin 5. In the cytoplasm, pre-miRNAs are further processed by the RNase III protein Dicer into an unstable, 19–25 nt miRNA duplex structures consisting of the ‘guide strand’ (miR) and the ‘passenger strand’ (miR*). The less stable of the two strands in the duplex will become the mature. Single stranded miRNA and it is incorporated into a multiple-protein nuclease complex, the RNA-induced silencing complex, which regulates protein expression.
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