MicroRNA News and Research

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In genetics, microRNAs (miRNA) are single-stranded RNA molecules of 21-23 nucleotides in length, which regulate gene expression. miRNAs are encoded by genes from whose DNA they are transcribed but miRNAs are not translated into protein (i.e. they are non-coding RNAs); instead each primary transcript (a pri-miRNA) is processed into a short stem-loop structure called a pre-miRNA and finally into a functional miRNA. Mature miRNA molecules are partially complementary to one or more messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules, and their main function is to down-regulate gene expression.

Moffitt researchers reveal how RNA molecules promote the development of melanoma metastasis

Changes in DNA can lead to the development and progression of cancer. DNA serves as a template for an intermediary molecule called RNA that, in turn, codes for proteins that control all cellular processes.

15 Jul 2022

Nanoparticles can be triggered to release anti-cancer microRNA using an alternating magnetic field

Study shows that nanoparticles release an anti-cancer microRNA inside lung cancer cells when stimulated using an alternating magnetic field.

30 Jun 2022

New liquid biopsy assay enables prediction of treatment response in patients with esophageal cancer

Biomarkers are like the X on a treasure map, but instead of indicating the location of unearthed riches, they indicate an individual's health status.

16 Jun 2022

Researchers reveal a possible biological mechanism connecting breast cancer and type 2 diabetes

Breast cancer and type 2 diabetes would seem to be distinctly different diseases, with commonality only in their commonality.

30 May 2022

Robust biomarker panel could help predict gestational diabetes in early pregnancy

UCLA researchers have taken the initial step in identifying what may be an effective way to detect gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) earlier in pregnancy, potentially improving diagnosis and treatment for what is the most common disorder of pregnancy.

25 May 2022

Viral microRNA acts as a master regulator to induce the reactivation of dormant herpesviruses

Dormant herpesviruses induce their reactivation via a previously unknown cellular mechanism mediated by a viral microRNA. Würzburg researchers show this in the journal "Nature".

5 May 2022

Efficacy of affinity resin containing Galanthus nivalis agglutinin against SARS-CoV-2

A new study demonstrated the efficacy of the Galanthus nivalis agglutinin (GNA)-incorporated affinity resin against various SARS-CoV-2 variants.

3 May 2022

Artificial circular RNAs found to bypass cellular antiviral responses

Researchers produced artificial circular ribonucleic acid sponges in a permuted intron-exon system and showed that these did not activate innate immunity.

29 Apr 2022

Study finds a bidirectional link between gastrointestinal issues and internalized symptoms in kids with autism

Children with autism spectrum disorder tend to experience gastrointestinal issues, such as constipation and stomach pain, at a higher rate than their neurotypical peers.

26 Apr 2022

Increased levels of a microRNA in type 2 diabetes have negative effect on insulin secretion

Researchers at Lund University have discovered increased levels of of a microRNA in type 2 diabetes, which has a negative effect on insulin secretion.

29 Mar 2022

Researchers discover new pathway for DNA transfer in tumor microenvironment

University of Notre Dame researchers have discovered another way tumor cells transfer genetic material to other cells in their microenvironment, causing cancer to spread.

25 Mar 2022

Current and future perspectives of mRNA technology

New research reports on the current and future perspectives on messenger ribonucleic acid technology, the platform on which the first successful COVID-19 vaccine was based.

8 Mar 2022

Combating COVID cytokine storm with targeted nucleic acid therapies

Researchers examine current nucleic acid-based treatments against COVID-19 and their methods of action.

6 Mar 2022

Osteoblast-derived vesicles regulate the switch from bone formation to resorption via a miRNA-mediated mechanism

Osteoblasts act in a group to make bone over the course of several months. However, how osteoblasts cooperate with each other in vivo is still unknown.

25 Feb 2022

Study shows SARS-CoV-2 hijacks mitochondrial transcriptional machinery resulting in organ failure and death

In a new study, researchers studied SARS-CoV-2 infection on the transcription of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, glycolysis, nutrient sensing, and stress response genes.

24 Feb 2022

Researchers discover a new and unconventional nuclear function for cancer microRNA

microRNAs (miRNA), non-coding RNA molecules, are widely known for regulating mRNA stability and translation. miR-10b has been increasingly implicated in the pathogenesis of gliomas, cancers of the brain.

16 Feb 2022

Cardiovascular markers for predicting clinical outcomes in SARS-CoV-2 infection

In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, an interdisciplinary team of researchers from Toronto, Canada, characterized the markers of endothelial function and developed micro ribonucleic acid (miRNA) expression atlas in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-positive and -negative patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).

15 Feb 2022

SARS-CoV-2 protein NSP2 found to impair microRNA-induced gene silencing in human cells

In a new study, a team of researchers used co-immunoprecipitation and in vitro interaction assays to identify the molecular basis of interaction of SARS-CoV-2 non-structural protein 2 with eIF4E-homologous protein (4EHP)-GRB10-interacting glycine-tyrosine-phenylalanine domain protein 2 complex, involved in microRNA-mediated gene silencing in human cells.

1 Feb 2022

Gene therapy can provide long-lasting therapeutic benefit in Huntington's disease

Gene therapy targeting the messenger RNA (mRNA) of the mutated huntingtin gene (HTT) can provide long-lasting therapeutic benefit in Huntington's disease after a single administration.

25 Jan 2022

Researchers develop nanotherapeutic drug to prevent cancer from spreading to the liver

Physician researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center have developed an innovative nanotherapeutic drug that prevents cancer from spreading to the liver in mice.

19 Jan 2022