Intron-derived microRNAs - fine tuning of gene functions

New evidence suggests that abundant small RNAs, microRNAs (miRNAs) act as regulatory vehicles to repress translation or cleave RNA transcripts, depending on their complementarity to the target gene, and result in modulation of gene expression. This review describes that the miRNAs derived from introns can suppress intracellular RNA homologues and regulate. the gene function. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.