MicroRNA-135a regulates early embryo development through mediating expression of E3 ubiquitin ligase seven in absentia Homolog 1 (SIAH1)

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are single-stranded 19-25 nucleotide non-coding RNA molecules capable of regulating gene expression at both transcription and translation levels (Denli et al., 2004). There are more than 700 known human miRNAs. It is estimated that they regulate more than 30% of all protein coding genes (Berezikov et al., 2005). MiRNAs are involved in many physiological process and diseases. Knockout mice lacking miRNA processing machinery Dicer died at embryonic day 7.5 (Bernstein et al., 2003). To investigate whether miRNA played a role in early embryo development, we had determined the miRNA profile of mouse preimplantation embryos. We found that miR-135a was specifically expressed in the zygotes and decreased upon development, consistent with the involvement of the miRNA in early embryo development. This study aimed at evaluating the role of miR-135a in embryo development through in silico and in vitro approaches …