miRNA-mediated gene silencing by translational repression followed by mRNA deadenylation and decay

Sergej Djuranovic, Ali Nahvi, Rachel Green

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

576 Scopus citations

Abstract

microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression through translational repression and/or messenger RNA (mRNA) deadenylation and decay. Because translation, deadenylation, and decay are closely linked processes, it is important to establish their ordering and thus to define the molecular mechanism of silencing. We have investigated the kinetics of these events in miRNA-mediated gene silencing by using a Drosophila S2 cell-based controllable expression system and show that mRNAs with both natural and engineered 3′ untranslated regions with miRNA target sites are first subject to translational inhibition, followed by effects on deadenylation and decay. We next used a natural translational elongation stall to show that miRNA-mediated silencing inhibits translation at an early step, potentially translation initiation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)237-240
Number of pages4
JournalScience
Volume336
Issue number6078
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 13 2012

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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