microRNA/Argonaute 2 regulates nonsense-mediated messenger RNA decay

Imperfect base-pairing between microRNA (miRNA) and the 3'-untranslated region of target messenger RNA (mRNA) triggers translational repression of the target mRNA. Here, we provide evidence that human Argonaute 2 targets cap-binding protein (CBP)80/20-bound mRNAs and exon junction complex-bound mRNAs and inhibits nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD), which is restricted tightly to CBP80/20-bound mRNAs. Furthermore, microarray analyses reveal that a subset of cellular transcripts, which are expected to be targeted for NMD, is stabilized by miRNA-mediated gene silencing. The regulation of NMD by miRNAs will shed light on a new post-transcriptional regulation mechanism of gene expression in mammalian cells.