MicroRNA as a potential vector for the propagation of robustness in protein expression and oscillatory dynamics within a ceRNA network.

ABSTRACT: microRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that are important post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. miRNAs can induce thresholds in protein synthesis. Such thresholds in protein output can be also achieved by oligomerization of transcription factors (TF) for the control of gene expression. First, we propose a minimal model for protein expression regulated by miRNA and by oligomerization of TF. We show that miRNA and oligomerization of TF generate a buffer, which increases the robustness of protein output towards molecular noise as well as towards random variation of kinetics parameters. Next, we extend the model by considering that the same miRNA can bind to multiple messenger RNAs, which accounts for the dynamics of a minimal competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) network. The

SUBMITTER: Gerard C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3871652 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature