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Submitted on July 9, 2007
Accepted on August 21, 2007
Target Protectors Reveal Dampening and Balancing of Nodal Agonist and Antagonist by miR-430
Wen-Yee Choi 1, Antonio J. Giraldez 2*, Alexander F. Schier 3*
1 Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. ; Developmental Genetics Program, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA. 2 Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. ; Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA. 3 Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Antonio J. Giraldez , E-mail: antonio.giraldez{at}yale.edu Alexander F. Schier , E-mail: schier{at}fas.harvard.edu
MicroRNAs repress hundreds of target mRNAs, but the physiologicalroles of specific miRNA-mRNA interactions remain largely elusive.We report that zebrafish miR-430 dampens and balances the expressionof the TGFß Nodal agonist squint and the TGFß Nodalantagonist lefty. To disrupt the interaction of specific miRNA-mRNApairs, we developed target protector morpholinos complementaryto miRNA binding sites in target mRNAs. Protection of squintor lefty mRNAs from miR-430 resulted in enhanced or reducedNodal signaling, respectively. Simultaneous protection of squintand lefty or absence of miR-430 caused an imbalance and reductionin Nodal signaling. These findings establish an approach toanalyze the in vivo roles of specific miRNA-mRNA pairs and reveala requirement for miRNAs in dampening and balancing agonist/antagonistpairs.
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