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Circulating microRNAs as Hormones: Intercellular and Inter-organ Conveyors of Epigenetic Information?
Yusuke Yoshioka1, Takeshi Katsuda1, Takahiro Ochiya2
1Division of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, National Cancer Center Research Institute, 5-1-1, Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0045, Japan.
Abstract:
The discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs) has created a paradigm shift not only in the traditional central dogma of molecular biology but also in the research of a variety of human diseases. Fourteen years after the discovery of miRNAs, there was another revolutionary finding: cells can shuttle miRNAs between each other via small lipid bilayer vesicles called exosomes. This exosome-mediated horizontal transfer of genetically encoded messages is now recognized as a means of intercellular communication. This chapter reviews the concept that miRNAs can function as hormones conveying epigenetic information.
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