The Biogenesis and Functions of piRNAs in Human Diseases
Xi Wu1, Yutian Pan1, Yuan Fang1
1Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are a novel type of small noncoding RNAs, which are 26-30 nt in length and bind to Piwi proteins. These short RNAs were originally discovered in germline cells and are considered as key regulators for germline maintenance. A growing body of evidence has now extended our views into piRNA biological significance showing that they can also regulate gene expression in somatic cells through transposon silencing, epigenetic programming, DNA rearrangements, mRNA turnover, and translational control. Mounting studies have revealed that the dysregulation of piRNAs may cause epigenetic changes and contribute to diverse diseases. This review illustrates piRNA biogenesis, mechanisms behind piRNA-mediated gene regulation, and changes of piRNAs in different diseases, especially in cancers.
Related Concept Videos
piRNA - Piwi-interacting RNAs
Biosynthesis of Nucleic Acids
siRNA - Small Interfering RNAs
In the cytoplasm, siRNA is processed from a double-stranded RNA, which comes from either endogenous DNA transcription or exogenous sources like a virus. This double-stranded RNA is then cleaved by the...
RNA Interference
This process occurs naturally in cells, often through the activity of genomically-encoded microRNAs. Researchers can take advantage of this mechanism by introducing synthetic RNAs to deactivate specific genes for research or therapeutic purposes. For example, RNAi could be used...
Bacterial RNA Polymerase
In most genes, the transcription site is a single base present upstream of the coding sequence. Though RNAP is a catalytically efficient enzyme, it does not recognize...
The Nucleolus


