Cellular localization and processing of primary transcripts of exonic microRNAs.

ABSTRACT: Processing of miRNAs occurs simultaneous with the transcription and splicing of their primary transcripts. For the small subset of exonic miRNAs it is unclear if the unspliced and/or spliced transcripts are used for miRNA biogenesis. We assessed endogenous levels and cellular location of primary transcripts of three exonic miRNAs. The ratio between unspliced and spliced transcripts varied markedly, i.e. >1 for BIC, <1 for pri-miR-146a and variable for pri-miR-22. Endogenous unspliced transcripts were located almost exclusively in the nucleus and thus available for miRNA processing for all three miRNAs. Endogenous spliced pri-miRNA transcripts were present both in the nucleus and in the cytoplasm and thus only partly available for miRNA processing. Overexpression of constructs containing th

SUBMITTER: Slezak-Prochazka I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3779153 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature