Needles in the genetic haystack of lipid disorders: single nucleotide polymorphisms in the microRNA regulome.

ABSTRACT: In recent years, microRNAs (miRNA) have emerged as important posttranscriptional regulators of gene expression in a wide variety of biological pathways. Since the discovery of the liver-specific miRNA-122 (miR-122) and its critical role in hepatic function, numerous additional miRNAs have been implicated in lipid metabolism. It is now apparent that lipid homeostasis is governed in part by an intricate web of miRNA activity. miRNAs are thought to confer robustness against environmental changes, such as diet modifications. Therefore, naturally occurring genetic variation that perturbs miRNA expression and/or function is likely to contribute to interindividual variability in lipid phenotypes. Although the field is still in its infancy, this review describes the growing evidence for miRNA-rela

SUBMITTER: Sethupathy P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3622314 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature