Abstract
A flurry of recent studies, carried out primarily in transfected cells or in vitro translation systems, have attempted to reveal the molecular means by which animal microRNAs (miRNAs) attenuate mRNA translation. Despite these intense efforts it has not yet been possible to derive a consensus model for such a mechanism. Here we summarise our own experimental contributions to this topic, which led us to propose that miRNAs control early translation initiation by affecting eukaryotic initiation factor 4E/cap structure and poly(A) tail function, and place them in a current context of this rapidly moving and challenging field.
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Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Jennifer L Clancy, Belinda J Ryan (née Westman), Marco Nousch, and David IK Martin, who have all contributed to the research discussed in this chapter. Research in the authors’ lab was supported by grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Research Council, the Sylvia and Charles Viertel Charitable Foundation, and by the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute.
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Beilharz, T.H., Humphreys, D.T., Preiss, T. (2010). miRNA Effects on mRNA Closed-Loop Formation During Translation Initiation. In: Rhoads, R. (eds) miRNA Regulation of the Translational Machinery. Progress in Molecular and Subcellular Biology(), vol 50. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03103-8_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03103-8_7
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