内含子miRNA反馈调节宿主基因的表达与功能研究进展

Advances in research on intronic miRNAs feedback regulation of their host genes

miRNA是近年来发现的一类重要的基因表达调控因子。研究发现,许多miRNA位于编码蛋白基因(宿主基因)的内含子中,称为内含子miRNA。现有的证据表明,大多数内含子miRNA和它们的宿主基因表达一致,提示这些内含子miRNA参与宿主基因在功能和表达上的调控,本文就这方面的最新研究进展做一综述。

miRNAs were discovered less than a decade ago,and have emerged as important regulators of gene expression in mammals.A large number of miRNAs have been identified to be located within the intronic regions of protein-encoding genes（host genes） and called intronic miRNAs.The intronic miRNAs may play a key role in regulating the expression and function of their host genes due to the fact that most of them are co-expressed with the host genes.In this paper,the recent advances on the research on potential relationship between intronic miRNAs and their host genes are reviewed.