Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 Oct;11(8):1277-85.
doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.201404-179FR.

MicroRNAs in respiratory disease. A clinician's overview

Derek Brown  1 , Mohammad Rahman, S Patrick Nana-Sinkam
Affiliations
Review

MicroRNAs in respiratory disease. A clinician's overview

Derek Brown et al. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2014 Oct.

Abstract

Since their initial discovery in the early 1990s, microRNAs have now become the focus of a multitude of lines of investigation ranging from basic biology to translational applications in the clinic. Previously believed to be of no biological relevance, microRNAs regulate processes fundamental to human health and disease. In diseases of the lung, microRNAs have been implicated in developmental programming, as drivers of disease, potential therapeutic targets, and clinical biomarkers; however, several obstacles must be overcome for us to fully realize their potential therapeutic use. Here, we provide for the clinician an overview of microRNA biology in selected diseases of the lung with a focus on their potential clinical application.

Keywords: biomarkers; epigenetics; gene; microRNA.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
MicroRNA processing. AGO = Argonaute proteins; DGCR8 = DiGeorge syndrome critical region gene 8; ORF = open reading frame; RISC = RNA-induced silencing complex; TRBP = transactivating response RNA-binding protein.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Overview of microRNAs implicated in lung disease. CF = cystic fibrosis; COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; miR = microRNA.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lee RC, Feinbaum RL, Ambros V. The C. elegans heterochronic gene lin-4 encodes small RNAs with antisense complementarity to lin-14. Cell. 1993;75:843–854. - PubMed
    1. Lau NC, Lim LP, Weinstein EG, Bartel DP. An abundant class of tiny RNAs with probable regulatory roles in Caenorhabditis elegans. Science. 2001;294:858–862. - PubMed
    1. Croce CM. Causes and consequences of microRNA dysregulation in cancer. Nat Rev Genet. 2009;10:704–714. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Friedman RC, Farh KK, Burge CB, Bartel DP. Most mammalian mRNAs are conserved targets of microRNAs. Genome Res. 2009;19:92–105. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ponting CP, Oliver PL, Reik W. Evolution and functions of long noncoding RNAs. Cell. 2009;136:629–641. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources