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Spotlight on miRNA and Hematopoiesis

The hunting of targets: challenge in miRNA research

Leukemia volume 27, pages 16–23 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that control the expression of around 60% of the human protein-coding genes. In the past decade, deregulation of miRNAs (by expression and/or function) has been associated with the pathogenesis, progression and prognosis of different diseases, including leukemia. The number of discovered genes encoding miRNAs has risen exponentially in this period, but the numbers of miRNA-target genes discovered and validated lag far behind. Scientists have gained more in-depth knowledge of the basic mechanism of action of miRNAs, but the main challenge still remaining is the identification of direct targets of these important ‘micro-players’, to understand how they fine-tune so many biological processes in both healthy and diseased tissue. Many technologies have been developed in the past few years, some with more potential than others, but all with their own pros and cons. Here, we review the most common and most potent computational and experimental approaches for miRNA-target gene discovery and discuss how the hunting of targets is challenging but possible by taking the experimental limitations in consideration and choosing the correct cellular context for identifying relevant target genes.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO-Vidi Grant, MLdB), the Quality of Life Foundation (MLdB/RP) and the Pediatric Oncology Foundation Rotterdam, KOCR (MLdB/RP). We would like to kindly acknowledge the careful reading and editing by Dr Patricia Garrido Castro.

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  1. Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, Erasmus MC-Sophia Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    F Akbari Moqadam, R Pieters & M L den Boer

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  1. F Akbari Moqadam
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  2. R Pieters
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  3. M L den Boer
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Correspondence to M L den Boer.

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Akbari Moqadam, F., Pieters, R. & den Boer, M. The hunting of targets: challenge in miRNA research. Leukemia 27, 16–23 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/leu.2012.179

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