In molecular biology, mir-145 microRNA is a short
RNA
Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule essential in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation and expression of genes. RNA and deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA) are nucleic acids. Along with lipids, proteins, and carbohydra ...
molecule that in humans is encoded by the MIR145
gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...
.
MicroRNA
MicroRNA (miRNA) are small, single-stranded, non-coding RNA molecules containing 21 to 23 nucleotides. Found in plants, animals and some viruses, miRNAs are involved in RNA silencing and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. miRN ...
s function to regulate the expression levels of other genes by several mechanisms.
[
]
Targets
MicroRNAs are involved in down-regulation of a variety of target genes. Götte ''et al''. have shown that experimental over-expression of mir-145 down-regulates the junctional cell adhesion molecule
JAM-A as well as the actin bundling protein fascin in
breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
and
endometriosis
Endometriosis is a disease of the female reproductive system in which cells similar to those in the endometrium, the layer of tissue that normally covers the inside of the uterus, grow outside the uterus. Most often this is on the ovaries, f ...
cells, resulting in a reduction of
cell motility
Motility is the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy.
Definitions
Motility, the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy, can be contrasted with sessility, the state of organisms th ...
.
Larsson ''et al''.
showed that miR-145 targets the 3' UTR of the
FLI1
Friend leukemia integration 1 transcription factor (FLI1), also known as transcription factor ERGB, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''FLI1'' gene, which is a proto-oncogene.
Function
Fli-1 is a member of the ETS transcription fa ...
gene, a finding that was later supported by Zhang ''et al''.
Role in cancer
miR-145 is hypothesised to be a
tumor suppressor
A tumor suppressor gene (TSG), or anti-oncogene, is a gene that regulates a cell during cell division and replication. If the cell grows uncontrollably, it will result in cancer. When a tumor suppressor gene is mutated, it results in a loss or red ...
.
miR-145 has been shown to be down-regulated in
breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
.
miR-145 is also involved in colon cancer
and
acute myeloid leukemia
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal cells that build up in the bone marrow and blood and interfere with normal blood cell production. Symptoms may includ ...
.
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{miRNA precursor families
MicroRNA
Tumor suppressor genes