Cotranslational microRNA mediated messenger RNA destabilization.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 27058298.
- Also identified by DOI 10.7554/eLife.12880 and PMC identifier 4859803.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
MicroRNAs are small (22 nucleotide) regulatory molecules that play important roles in a wide variety of biological processes. These RNAs, which bind to targeted mRNAs via limited base pairing interactions, act to reduce protein production from those mRNAs. Considerable evidence indicates that miRNAs destabilize targeted mRNAs by recruiting enzymes that function in normal mRNA decay and mRNA degradation is widely thought to occur when mRNAs are in a ribosome free state. Nevertheless, when examined, miRNA targeted mRNAs are invariably found to be polysome associated; observations that appear to be at face value incompatible with a simple decay model. Here, we provide evidence that turnover of miRNA-targeted mRNAs occurs while they are being translated. Cotranslational mRNA degradation is initiated by decapping and proceeds 5' to 3' behind the last translating ribosome. These results provide an explanation for a long standing mystery in the miRNA field.
Medical subject headings
- MicroRNAs
- Protein Biosynthesis
- RNA Stability
- RNA, Messenger