How MicroRNAs Control Gene Expression Through Alternative Transcripts
Author Information
Author(s): Matthieu Legendre, William Ritchie, Fabrice Lopez, Daniel Gautheret
Primary Institution: INSERM ERM 206, Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France
Hypothesis
What happens when a targeted mRNA has several forms differing by their 3′ regions?
Conclusion
The study found that certain microRNA targets are specifically downregulated in tissues where those microRNAs are expressed.
Supporting Evidence
- The analysis identified 312 significant motifs associated with differential repression of isoforms.
- The study showed that targeted isoforms are downregulated in tissues where cognate microRNAs are expressed.
- The Disrep procedure significantly enriched true miRNA targets in the identified motifs.
Takeaway
MicroRNAs can stop certain messages in our cells from being read, but if a message has different versions, only the longer ones get stopped when the right microRNA is around.
Methodology
The study systematically examined 3′ UTRs containing multiple poly(A) sites and putative miRNA targets using expressed sequence tag (EST) data.
Potential Biases
Potential false positives may arise from stringent criteria in identifying miRNA targets.
Limitations
The study may have background noise from motifs identified without the Disrep procedure.
Statistical Information
P-Value
7.45 × 10−5
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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