Modulation of Epigenetic Regulators and Cell Fate Decisions by miRNAs

Abstract

Mammalian gene expression is controlled at multiple levels by a variety of regulators, including chromatin modifiers, transcription factors and miRNAs. The latter are small, ncRNAs that inhibit the expression of target mRNAs by reducing both their stability and translation rate. In this review, we summarize the recent work towards characterizing miRNA targets that are themselves involved in the regulation of gene expression at the epigenetic level. Epigenetic regulators are strongly enriched among the predicted targets of miRNAs, which may contribute to the documented importance of miRNAs for pluripotency, organism development and somatic cell reprogramming.

KEYWORDS::

• BAF
• epigenetic regulator
• epigenetics
• iPSC
• miR-290–295
• miRNA
• pluripotent stem cell
• reprogramming
• transcription factor

Financial & competing interests disclosure

AJ Gruber is supported by a Werner-Siemens fellowship. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

AJ Gruber is supported by a Werner-Siemens fellowship. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.