TY - JOUR
T1 - MicroRNA-mediated regulatory circuits
T2 - Outlook and perspectives
AU - Cora, Davide
AU - Re, Angela
AU - Caselle, Michele
AU - Bussolino, Federico
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd.
PY - 2017/6/6
Y1 - 2017/6/6
N2 - MicroRNAs have been found to be necessary for regulating genes implicated in almost all signaling pathways, and consequently their dysfunction influences many diseases, including cancer. Understanding of the complexity of the microRNA-mediated regulatory network has grown in terms of size, connectivity and dynamics with the development of computational and, more recently, experimental high-throughput approaches for microRNA target identification. Newly developed studies on recurrent microRNA-mediated circuits in regulatory networks, also known as network motifs, have substantially contributed to addressing this complexity, and therefore to helping understand the ways by which microRNAs achieve their regulatory role. This review provides a summarizing view of the state-of-the-art, and perspectives of research efforts on microRNA-mediated regulatory motifs. In this review, we discuss the topological properties characterizing different types of circuits, and the regulatory features theoretically enabled by such properties, with a special emphasis on examples of circuits typifying their biological significance in experimentally validated contexts. Finally, we will consider possible future developments, in particular regarding microRNA-mediated circuits involving long non-coding RNAs and epigenetic regulators.
AB - MicroRNAs have been found to be necessary for regulating genes implicated in almost all signaling pathways, and consequently their dysfunction influences many diseases, including cancer. Understanding of the complexity of the microRNA-mediated regulatory network has grown in terms of size, connectivity and dynamics with the development of computational and, more recently, experimental high-throughput approaches for microRNA target identification. Newly developed studies on recurrent microRNA-mediated circuits in regulatory networks, also known as network motifs, have substantially contributed to addressing this complexity, and therefore to helping understand the ways by which microRNAs achieve their regulatory role. This review provides a summarizing view of the state-of-the-art, and perspectives of research efforts on microRNA-mediated regulatory motifs. In this review, we discuss the topological properties characterizing different types of circuits, and the regulatory features theoretically enabled by such properties, with a special emphasis on examples of circuits typifying their biological significance in experimentally validated contexts. Finally, we will consider possible future developments, in particular regarding microRNA-mediated circuits involving long non-coding RNAs and epigenetic regulators.
KW - microRNA
KW - regulatory circuits
KW - regulatory networks
KW - systems biology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85021857287&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1088/1478-3975/aa6f21
DO - 10.1088/1478-3975/aa6f21
M3 - Article
SN - 1478-3967
VL - 14
JO - Physical Biology
JF - Physical Biology
IS - 4
M1 - 045001
ER -