A-to-I editing of protein coding and noncoding RNAs

Adenosine deaminase acting on RNA (ADAR) catalyzes the hydrolytic deamination of adenosine to inosine in double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) substrates. Inosine pairs preferentially with cytidine, as opposed to uridine; therefore, ADAR editing alters the sequence and base pairing properties of both protein-coding and non-coding RNA. Editing can directly alter the sequence of protein-coding transcripts and modify splicing, or affect a variety of non-coding targets, including microRNA, small interfering RNA, viral transcripts, and repeat elements such as Alu and LINE. Such editing has a wide range of physiological effects, including modification of targets in the brain and in disease states.