MicroRNAs are RNAs of about 18-24 nucleotides in lengths, which are found in the small noncoding RNA class and have a crucial role in the posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression, cellular metabolic pathways, and developmental events. These small but essential molecules are first processed by Drosha and DGCR8 in the nucleus and then released into the cytoplasm, where they cleaved by Dicer to form the miRNA duplex. These duplexes are bound by the Argonaute (AGO) protein to form the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) in a process called RISC loading. Transcription of miRNAs, processing with Drosha and DGCR8 in the nucleus, cleavage by Dicer, binding to AGO proteins and forming RISC are the most critical steps in miRNA biogenesis. Additional molecules involved in biogenesis at these stages can enhance or inhibit these processes, which can radically change the fate of the cell. Biogenesis is regulated by many checkpoints at every step, primarily at the transcriptional level, in the nucleus, cytoplasm, with RNA regulation, RISC loading, miRNA strand selection, RNA methylation/uridylation, and turnover rate. Moreover, in recent years, different regulation mechanisms have been discovered in noncanonical Drosha or Dicer-independent pathways. This chapter seeks answers to how miRNA biogenesis and function are regulated through both canonical and non-canonical pathways.
Keywords: Argonaute protein; Biogenesis; MicroRNA; RNA-induced silencer complex.
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