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Updated: Dec 28, 2025

RNA Interference in Aquatic Beetles as a Powerful Tool for Manipulating Gene Expression at Specific Developmental Time Points
Published on: May 29, 2020
Regulation of aquaporin-2 by RNA interference
Hyun Jun Jung1, Eui-Jung Park2, Hyo-Jung Choi2
1Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Taegu, South Korea.
Abstract:
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that interact with 3'-untranslated regions of mRNAs. miRNAs modulate gene expression by regulating mRNA translation and provide novel insights into the complex regulation of protein expression and function. In this chapter, we describe the general features of RNA interference, identification of miRNAs, and interaction of miRNAs with their target genes. In particular, we have shown that several miRNAs are responsive to arginine vasopressin or aldosterone stimulation in mouse cortical collecting duct mpkCCD cells. Moreover, we identified both miR-32 and miR-137 as AQP2-targeting miRNAs using in silico analysis and also identified several target genes of miR-32 and miR-137. As the target sequences of miR-32 and miR-137 are commonly found in mRNAs of vasopressin-regulated genes, further studies regarding the interaction of miRNAs with their target genes are required to obtain comprehensive understanding of miRNA-regulated AQP2 expression in kidney collecting duct cells.
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