Techniques for characterizing cytomegalovirus-encoded miRNAs

• Published in: Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) Vol. 1119; p. 239
• Main Authors: Hook, Lauren M, Landais, Igor, Hancock, Meaghan H, Nelson, Jay A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-01-2014
• Subjects: 3' Untranslated Regions - genetics; Cytomegalovirus - genetics; Cytomegalovirus - pathogenicity; Cytomegalovirus Infections - genetics; Cytomegalovirus Infections - virology; Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; Humans; MicroRNAs - genetics; MicroRNAs - isolation & purification; Molecular Biology - methods; RNA, Messenger - genetics
• ISSN: 1940-6029
• DOI: 10.1007/978-1-62703-788-4_14

microRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level, by binding to sites within the 3' untranslated regions of messenger RNA (mRNA) transcripts. The discovery of this completely new mechanism of gene regulation necessitated the development of a variety of techniques to further characterize miRNAs, their expression, and function. In this chapter, we will discuss techniques currently used in the miRNA field to express, detect, and inhibit miRNAs as well as methods used to identify their targets.