Modulation of miRNAs in Pulmonary Hypertension

Figure 1

miRNA biogenesis. The miRNAs are transcribed by RNA polymerase II as primary transcript of miRNA (pri-miRNA). The pri-miRNA is the cleaved by RNase III enzyme, Drosha, along with several cofactors including DGCR8 and produces the stem-loop precursor miRNA (pre-miRNA). The pre-miRNA is then exported out of the nucleus by Exportin-5 to the cytoplasm. In the cytoplasm, the pre-miRNA is diced-up by Dicer resulting miRNA duplex, ~22 nucleotides long. The mature miRNA is incorporated into the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) which contains Argonaute (Ago) and is guided to the 3′-UTR of target mRNAs. The gene silencing is achieved by either mRNA degradation or translational repression.