Publication Date:
2007-09-01
Description:
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) repress hundreds of target messenger RNAs (mRNAs), but the physiological roles of specific miRNA-mRNA interactions remain largely elusive. We report that zebrafish microRNA-430 (miR-430) dampens and balances the expression of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) Nodal agonist squint and the TGF-beta Nodal antagonist lefty. To disrupt the interaction of specific miRNA-mRNA pairs, we developed target protector morpholinos complementary to miRNA binding sites in target mRNAs. Protection of squint or lefty mRNAs from miR-430 resulted in enhanced or reduced Nodal signaling, respectively. Simultaneous protection of squint and lefty or absence of miR-430 caused an imbalance and reduction in Nodal signaling. These findings establish an approach to analyze the in vivo roles of specific miRNA-mRNA pairs and reveal a requirement for miRNAs in dampening and balancing agonist/antagonist pairs.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Choi, Wen-Yee -- Giraldez, Antonio J -- Schier, Alexander F -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2007 Oct 12;318(5848):271-4. Epub 2007 Aug 30.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17761850" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
3' Untranslated Regions
;
Animals
;
Embryo, Nonmammalian/physiology
;
Embryonic Development
;
Gene Expression Regulation
;
Left-Right Determination Factors
;
MicroRNAs/*metabolism
;
Mutation
;
Nodal Protein
;
Nodal Signaling Ligands
;
RNA, Messenger/genetics/*metabolism
;
Transforming Growth Factor beta/agonists/antagonists &
;
inhibitors/*genetics/*metabolism
;
Zebrafish/embryology/*genetics/metabolism
;
Zebrafish Proteins/*genetics
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
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