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Molecular imaging of microRNAs

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Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a novel class of small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression by targeting mRNAs for either cleavage or translational repression. They have been shown to play important roles in a broad range of biological processes including development, cellular differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis. Conventional detection methods, such as northern blot, real-time PCR or microarray, have been used to assess miRNA expression. However, these techniques require the fixation or lysis of cells, and thus cannot be used to study the dynamic function of miRNAs in living cells. Recent remarkable advances in molecular imaging techniques have provided the capability of noninvasive repeated quantitative imaging of tumour or stem cells in living animals. The current brief discussion focuses on the reporter and fluorescent beacon imaging approaches to visualize miRNA expression in living subjects.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, the National Basic Research and Development Program of China (973) under grant nos. 2006CB705700 and 2011CB707702, the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant nos. 81090272, 81090274, 81000632, 30900334 and 30970845, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities under grant no. JY10000910002.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, 710032, China

    Fu Wang & Feng Cao

  2. Life Sciences Research Center, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Xidian University, Xi’an, 710071, China

    Fu Wang

  3. Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Nanomedicine (LOMIN), National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA

    Gang Niu & Xiaoyuan Chen

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  1. Fu Wang
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  4. Feng Cao
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Correspondence to Xiaoyuan Chen or Feng Cao.

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Wang, F., Niu, G., Chen, X. et al. Molecular imaging of microRNAs. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 38, 1572–1579 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-011-1786-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-011-1786-0

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