Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 297, Issue 5589, Pages 2056-2060Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.1073827
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- NIGMS NIH HHS [GM62862-01] Funding Source: Medline
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In animals, the double-stranded RNA-specific endonuclease Dicer produces two classes of functionally distinct, tiny RNAs: microRNAs ( miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). miRNAs regulate mRNA translation, whereas siRNAs direct RNA destruction via the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway. Here we show that, in human cell extracts, the miRNA let-7 naturally enters the RNAi pathway, which suggests that only the degree of complementarity between a miRNA and its RNA target determines its function. Human let-7 is a component of a previously identified, miRNA-containing ribonucleoprotein particle, which we show is an RNAi enzyme complex. Each let-7 containing complex directs multiple rounds of RNA cleavage, which explains the remarkable efficiency of the RNAi pathway in human cells.
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