Document Type
Journal Article
Publisher
Libertas Academica
Faculty
Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science
School
School of Medical Sciences
RAS ID
19300
Abstract
The paired box gene 6 (PAX6) is a powerful mediator of eye and brain organogenesis whose spatiotemporal expression is exquisitely controlled by multiple mechanisms, including post-transcriptional regulation by microRNAs (miRNAs). In the present study, we use bioinformatic predictions to identify three candidate microRNA-7 (miR-7) target sites in the human PAX6 3′ untranslated region (3′-UTR) and demonstrate that two of them are functionally active in a human cell line. Furthermore, transient transfection of cells with synthetic miR-7 inhibits PAX6 protein expression but does not alter levels of PAX6 mRNA, suggesting that miR-7 induces translational repression of PAX6. Finally, a comparison of PAX6 3′-UTRs across species reveals that one of the functional miR-7 target sites is conserved, whereas the second functional target site is found only in primates. Thus, the interaction between PAX6 and miR-7 appears to be highly conserved; however, the precise number of sites through which this interaction occurs may have expanded throughout evolution.
DOI
10.4137/EBO.S13739
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License
Comments
Needhamsen M., White R.B., Giles K.M., Dunlop S.A., Thomas M.G. (2014). Regulation of human PAX6 expression by miR-7. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 10(), 107-113. Available here