Nodal signaling plays an essential role during the induction and patterning of vertebrate embryonic tissue types. In Xenopus and zebrafish, microRNAs regulate Nodal signaling, but surprisingly by very different mechanisms.

The central dogma uniquely positions RNA as the key molecular player for translating genetic software into protein hardware. But it has become increasingly clear that RNA also plays an essential regulatory role within cells. MicroRNAs in particular have emerged as ubiquitous and still poorly understood molecules involved in the control of a wide variety of biological processes. RNA has also rec...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), highly conserved, short (approx. 22 nucleotides) non-coding RNAs, exhibit a fine-tune control over gene expression by complementary sequence binding and translational repression of protein coding mRNA transcripts. Recently, the role of miRNAs has been increasingly investigated in various physiological or pathophysiological events. Circulating platelets are crucial for coagul...

background: rna interference (rnai) is a phenomenon uses double-stranded rna (dsrna) to specifically inhibit gene expression. the non-specific silencing caused by interferon response to dsrna in mammalian cells limits the potential of utilizing rnai to study gene function. duplexes of 21-nucleotide short interfering dsrna (sirna) inhibit gene expression by rnai. in some organisms, sirna can als...

The recent discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs) has introduced a new layer of complexity to the process of gene regulation. MiRNAs are essential for cellular function, and their dysregulation often results in disease. Study of miRNA expression and function in animal models and human lymphomas has improved our knowledge of the pathogenesis of this heterogeneous disease. In this paper, we attempt to d...

BACKGROUND Cell-free foetal haemoglobin (HbF) has been shown to play a role in the pathology of preeclampsia (PE). In the present study, we aimed to further characterize the harmful effects of extracellular free haemoglobin (Hb) on the placenta. In particular, we investigated whether cell-free Hb affects the release of placental syncytiotrophoblast vesicles (STBMs) and their micro-RNA content. ...

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is caused by persistent brain infection of mutated virus, showing inflammation, neurodegeneration, and demyelination. Although many factors are emphasized in the pathogenesis of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, the exact mechanism of neurodegeneration remains unknown. Micro-RNAs are small, noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the posttranscript...