Nonsense-Mediated mRNA Decay, a Finely Regulated Mechanism

Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is both a mechanism for rapidly eliminating mRNAs carrying a premature termination codon and a pathway that regulates many genes. This implies that NMD must be subject to regulation in order to allow, under certain physiological conditions, the expression of genes that are normally repressed by NMD. Therapeutically, it might be interesting to express certain NMD-repressed genes or to allow the synthesis of functional truncated proteins. Developing such approaches will require a good understanding of NMD regulation. This review describes the different levels of this regulation in human cells.

Automated summary

Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is a mechanism for rapidly eliminating mRNAs with premature termination codons and also regulates multiple genes. Researchers have discovered that NMD must be regulated to express genes that are normally repressed by NMD under specific physiological conditions, so a comprehensive understanding of NMD regulation is important for therapeutic purposes.