The roles of microRNAs in epigenetic regulation

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs, approximately 18–25 nucleotides in length, now recognized as one of the major regulatory gene families in eukaryotes. Recent advances have been made in understanding the complicated roles of miRNAs in epigenetic regulation. miRNAs, as epigenetic modulator...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current opinion in chemical biology 2019-08, Vol.51, p.11-17
Main Authors: Yao, Qian, Chen, Yuqi, Zhou, Xiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
DNA Methylation
Epigenesis, Genetic
Histone Code
Humans
MicroRNAs - genetics
RNA - genetics
RNA Interference
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Summary:MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs, approximately 18–25 nucleotides in length, now recognized as one of the major regulatory gene families in eukaryotes. Recent advances have been made in understanding the complicated roles of miRNAs in epigenetic regulation. miRNAs, as epigenetic modulators, affect the protein levels of the target mRNAs without modifying the gene sequences. Moreover, miRNAs can also be regulated by epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation, RNA modification, and histone modifications. The reciprocal actions of miRNAs and epigenetic pathway appear to form a miRNA-epigenetic feedback loop and have an extensive influence on gene expression proliferation. The dysregulation of the miRNA-epigenetic feedback loop interferes with the physiological and pathological processes and contributes to variety of diseases. In this review, we focus on the reciprocal interconnection of miRNAs in epigenetic regulation, with the aim of offering new insights into the epigenetic regulatory mechanism that can be used to combat diseases.
ISSN:1367-5931
1879-0402
DOI:10.1016/j.cbpa.2019.01.024