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Review
. 2012 Nov;14(11):1114-21.
doi: 10.1038/ncb2613.

The functions of microRNAs in pluripotency and reprogramming

Trevor R Leonardo  1 , Heather L Schultheisz, Jeanne F Loring, Louise C Laurent
Affiliations
Review

The functions of microRNAs in pluripotency and reprogramming

Trevor R Leonardo et al. Nat Cell Biol. 2012 Nov.

Abstract

Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) express a distinctive set of microRNAs (miRNAs). Many of these miRNAs have similar targeting sequences and are predicted to regulate downstream targets cooperatively. These enriched miRNAs are involved in the regulation of the unique PSC cell cycle, and there is increasing evidence that they also influence other important characteristics of PSCs, including their morphology, epigenetic profile and resistance to apoptosis. Detailed studies of miRNAs and their targets in PSCs should help to parse the regulatory networks that underlie developmental processes and cellular reprogramming.

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Conflict of interest statement

COMPETING FINANCIAL INTERESTS

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Summary of the published interactions between pluripotency-associated miRNAs and the ir target mRNAs from experiments in the murine system. The diagram illustrates the regulatory interactions between pluripotency-associated miRNAs and their targets in the cell cycle, as well as those influencing the mesenchymal to epithelial transition, DNA methylation and apoptosis pathways. These, in turn, influence the reprogramming of somatic cells to pluripotency. The interactions shown are taken from studies on murine cells. miRNAs that are upregulated in pluripotency are indicated in yellow, miRNAs that are downregulated in pluripotency are in orange, proteins that regulate miRNAs are in blue, and transcripts that are regulated by miRNAs are in red. Downstream functional effects are in green. References supporting regulatory interactions are indicated next to the lines.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Summary of the published interactions between pluripotency-associated miRNAs and their target mRNAs from experiments in the human system. The diagram illustrates the regulatory interactions between pluripotency-associated miRNAs and their targets in the cell cycle, MET, DNA methylation and apoptosis pathways, which, in turn, influence the reprogramming of somatic cells to pluripotency. Colour coding is as in Fig. 1. References supporting regulatory interactions are indicated next to the lines.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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