Molecular mechanism that links a nutrient-responsive miRNA with clock genes

虽然已知microRNA (miRNA) miR-92及其类似物与肿瘤发生有关，但它们的生理作用和它们发挥作用的信号通路仍有待研究。在这项研究中，我们利用线虫秀丽隐杆线虫和哺乳动物培养细胞探索了miR-92家族mirna与时钟基因之间的关系。我们发现了几条证据，表明秀丽隐杆线虫的miR-92同源物、miR-235和时钟基因Period2同源物lin-42相互负调控，以决定祖细胞分化的时间。另一方面，miR-92及其一种类似物在培养的啮齿动物成纤维细胞中没有振荡表达模式。

Although the microRNA (miRNA) miR-92 and its paralogues have been known to be associated with tumorigenesis, their physiological role and the signaling pathway in which they function remain to be delineated. In this study, we explored the relationship between the miR-92 family of miRNAs and the clock genes, using the nematode C. elegans and mammalian cultured cells.We found several lines of evidence suggesting that C. elegans miR-92 orthologue, miR-235 and the clock gene Period2 ortholog lin-42 negatively regulate each other to determine the timing of differentiation in progenitor cells. On the other hand, miR-92 and one of its paralogues did not show oscillatory expression pattern in cultured rodent fibroblasts.