Cellular messenger RNAs and long noncoding RNAs with partial complementarity (mRNA/lncRNA)

Cellular messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) represent a vast class of therapeutic targets that are regulated through sequence-specific interactions. When these RNAs are targeted via partial complementarity, the interaction is typically mediated by microRNAs (miRNAs) or miRNA-like therapeutic agents. miRNAs bind to target sequences, predominantly within the 3' untranslated regions (UTRs) of mRNAs or across the length of lncRNAs, to facilitate post-transcriptional gene silencing (Bartel, 2009). This process involves the recruitment of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), which leads to either the physical degradation of the RNA transcript or the inhibition of its translation into protein (Gebert & MacRae, 2019). Because a single miRNA can target hundreds of different RNAs through partial complementarity, this mechanism plays a critical role in complex biological networks and disease states, including oncogenesis and viral replication (Rupaimoole & Slack, 2017). Therapeutic interventions leveraging this mechanism include miRNA mimics, which enhance the silencing of specific pathways, and antagomirs, which sequester miRNAs to prevent them from binding to their cellular RNA targets (Paraskevopoulou & Hatzigeorgiou, 2016).

Other names

miRNA targetsRNA transcriptsTranscriptome-wide RNA targetsNon-coding RNA targetsPost-transcriptional regulatory targets

MicroRNA-mediated gene silencing, including mRNA degradation and translational repression via the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC).