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Multilevel Regulation of Gene Expression by MicroRNAs
Eugene V. Makeyev and
Tom Maniatis
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are 22-nucleotide-long noncoding RNAs thatnormally function by suppressing translation and destabilizingmessenger RNAs bearing complementary target sequences. SomemiRNAs are expressed in a cell- or tissue-specific manner andmay contribute to the establishment and/or maintenance of cellularidentity. Recent studies indicate that tissue-specific miRNAsmay function at multiple hierarchical levels of gene regulatorynetworks, from targeting hundreds of effector genes incompatiblewith the differentiated state to controlling the levels of globalregulators of transcription and alternative pre-mRNA splicing.This multilevel regulation may allow individual miRNAs to profoundlyaffect the gene expression program of differentiated cells.
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. E-mail: makeyev{at}mcb.harvard.edu (E.V.M.); maniatis{at}mcb.harvard.edu (T.M.)
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