Deep Sequencing of Human Nuclear and Cytoplasmic Small RNAs Reveals an Unexpectedly Complex Subcellular Distribution of miRNAs and tRNA 3' Trailers

ABSTRACT: Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are 22-nt small non-coding regulatory RNAs that have generally been considered to regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level in the cytoplasm. However, recent studies have reported that some miRNAs localize to and function in the nucleus. Methodology/Principal Findings: To determine the number of miRNAs localized to the nucleus, we systematically investigated the subcellular distribution of small RNAs (sRNAs) by independent deep sequencing the nuclear and cytoplasmic pools of 18- to 30-nucleotide sRNAs from human cells. We identified 339 nuclear and 324 cytoplasmic known miRNAs, 300 of which overlap, suggesting that the majority of miRNAs are imported into the nucleus. With the exception of a few miRNAs evidently enriched in the nuclear pool,

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

SUBMITTER: Jian-You Liao 

PROVIDER: E-GEOD-22918 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress