Transcripts possessing a 5'-triphosphate are a hallmark of viral transcription and can trigger the host antiviral response. 5'-triphosphates are also found on common host transcripts transcribed by RNA polymerase III (RNAP III), yet how these transcripts remain non-immunostimulatory is incompletely understood. Most microRNAs (miRNAs) are 5'-monophosphorylated as a result of sequential endonucle...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small RNAs that silence gene expression. In animal cells, miRNAs bind to the 3' untranslated regions of specific mRNAs and inhibit their translation. Although some targets of a handful of miRNAs are known, the number and identities of mRNA targets in the genome are uncertain, as are the developmental functions of miRNA regulation. To identify the global range o...

Cell therapies utilizing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have a great potential in many research and clinical settings. The mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of MSCs have been studied previously and the paracrine effects elicited by their production of various growth factors and cytokines were recognized as being crucial. However, the molecular controls that govern these paracrine eff...

Administration of 17β-estradiol (E2) has beneficial effects on cognitive function in peri- but not post-menopausal women, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying age-related changes in E2 action remain unclear. We propose that there is a biological switch in E2 action that occurs coincident with age and length of time after ovarian hormone depletion, and we hypothesized that age-dependent regul...

Light and microRNAs (miRNAs) are key external and internal signals for plant development, respectively. However, the relationship between the light signaling and miRNA biogenesis pathways remains unknown. Here we found that miRNA processer proteins DCL1 and HYL1 interact with a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor, phytochrome-interacting factor 4 (PIF4), which mediates the destab...

microRNAs (miRNAs) are non coding RNAs with different biological functions and pathological implications. Given their role as post-transcriptional gene expression regulators, they are involved in several important physiological processes like development, cell differentiation and cell signaling. miRNAs act as modulators of gene expression programs in different diseases, particularly in cancer, ...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are regulators of gene expression in plants and animals. The biogenesis of miRNAs is precisely controlled to secure normal development of organisms. Here we report that TOUGH (TGH) is a component of the DCL1-HYL1-SERRATE complex that processes primary transcripts of miRNAs [i.e., primary miRNAs (pri-miRNAs)] into miRNAs in Arabidopsis. Lack of TGH impairs multiple DCL activit...

Abstract Background The microRNAs(miRNA)-derived secondary phased small interfering RNAs (phasiRNAs) participate in post-transcriptional gene silencing and play important roles various bio-processes plants. In rice, two miRNAs, miR2118 miR2275, were mainly responsible for triggering of 21-nt 24-nt phasiRNAs biogenesis, respectively. However, relative fewer phasiRNA biogenesis pathways have been...