Long-lived microRNA-Argonaute complexes in quiescent cells can be activated to regulate mitogenic responses.

ABSTRACT: Cellular proliferation depends on the integration of mitogenic stimuli with environmental conditions. Increasing evidence suggests that microRNAs play a regulatory role in this integration. Here we show that during periods of cellular quiescence, mature microRNAs are stabilized and stored in Argonaute protein complexes that can be activated by mitogenic stimulation to repress mitogen-stimulated targets, thus influencing subsequent cellular responses. In quiescent cells, the majority of microRNAs exist in low molecular weight, Argonaute protein-containing complexes devoid of essential components of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). For at least 3 wk, this pool of Argonaute-associated microRNAs is stable and can be recruited into RISC complexes subsequent to mitogenic stimulation. Us

SUBMITTER: Olejniczak SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3538211 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature